Modem Art

About Modem Art

Modem-Art Ltd. was a fabless semiconductor company established in 1998, positioning itself at the forefront of the burgeoning 3G wireless market. The company was founded by Shlomo Gadot and Dr. Yossi Kofman, who served as co-CEOs. Modem-Art focused on developing and marketing sophisticated programmable baseband processor chips, software, and reference designs for manufacturers of 3G terminals. This focus addressed a critical need in the telecommunications industry as it transitioned towards higher data-rate mobile services.

The core of Modem-Art's competitive advantage was its proprietary Programmable Modem Engine (PME) technology. This powerful physical layer processor architecture was specifically optimized for W-CDMA modem implementation, a key standard for 3G networks. The PME's multiprocessing architecture enabled rapid software-only upgrades to track the frequent releases of the 3GPP standard, eliminating the need for costly and time-consuming hardware modifications. This programmability offered terminal manufacturers reduced development risks, faster time-to-market, and lower costs while maintaining a small silicon footprint and low power consumption. The company's primary product, the MA1000 baseband processor, was geared for handsets based on the W-CDMA standard and supported a migration path from 2.5G technologies like GSM/GPRS.

The company successfully attracted venture capital, raising $27.9 million from investors including Genesis Partners, Tamir Fishman Ventures, Apax Partners, BancBoston Ventures, and Argoquest. In 2005, Agere Systems acquired Modem-Art for approximately $145.1 million, a deal comprising $30.5 million in cash and about 70.3 million shares of Agere stock. This acquisition was the culmination of an 18-month strategic relationship between the two companies and provided Agere with best-in-class UMTS physical layer technology, enhancing its portfolio for the evolving 3G and HSDPA markets. All 40 Modem-Art employees joined Agere's Raanana, Israel office following the acquisition.