Tpack was founded in August 2001 as a fabless semiconductor company that develops technology for intelligent data services for SONET/SDH transmission systems. The Tpack vision is “to help telecom equipment manufacturers integrate advanced Ethernet capabilities into transmission equipment.” The company has 49 employees.

In May 2002, Tpack secured DKK 45.2 million (US $5.5 million) in Series A funding from Slottsbacken Funds, a Scandinavian venture capital fund managed by ACR Capital, InnFond P/S, a Danish early stage/seed capital investment fund, and Olicom, which committed DKK 12.5 million (US $1.5 million) in return for 21.7% (non-diluted) of the shares. Since then, the company has been self-financing through commercial activities with its customers. Additional capital requirements are not anticipated. Revenues for 2002 were 3.8M DKK, growing to roughly 20M DKK in 2003. Tpack plan to be breakeven through year 2004.

Tpack develops solutions that enable manufacturers of optical SONET/SDH transmission equipment to extend their products with support for intelligent IP and Ethernet data services such as VPNs, bandwidth provisioning, traffic shaping and QoS. Combining Layer 2/3 data functionality into SDH/SONET devices allow carriers to reduce the amount of equipment in their networks, simplify management, and increase network utilization.

Tpack solutions provide IP/Ethernet services in the transport network based upon standards such as MPLS and GMPLS. The Tpack solution provides Label Edge Router and Label Switch Router functionality along with Virtual Concatenation, bandwidth adaptation, Ethernet/MPLS leased line support, Ethernet/MPLS switching support, VPN support, traffic shaping and queuing, bandwidth on demand, and VLAN support.

There are three product families in the Tpack portfolio: Norton Ethernet over SONET port mapping chips offers various combinations of interfaces and port counts. The Broadway packet switch engine family offers features such as high port counts. The module family offers a solution that plugs directly into an existing transport system and is controlled from the existing network management center.

Norton was the name of Tpack’s first mapping chip and now refers to a family of intelligent Ethernet over SONET port mapping chips. CALLA chips, ranging from the CALLA-12 to CALLA-192, feature low & high order VCAT, LCAS, and all encapsulation methods (GFP, LAPS, PPP) + layer 2 processing (VLAN, MPLS, etc.) to bridge between IETF and MEF service offerings. The family includes a variety of Ethernet and TDM interfaces.

The Calla-12 port mapping chip enables OEMs to add metro Ethernet data services into SONET/SDH equipment. Calla-12 features LCAS support, high/low order virtual concatenation, Layer 2 packet processing, Ethernet to SDH/SONET rate adaptation, and multiple encapsulation methods.

Calla-12 can be configured in Mapping mode or as a packet switch interface chip. As a pure mapping device, Calla-12 maps Ethernet ports directly into SONET/SDH VC groups. As an interface chip for the Gardenia packet switch, Calla-12 maps Ethernet ports and SONET/SDH channels to and from the SPI-3 interface, providing statistical muxing and QoS required to deliver VPLS/E-LAN services to data customers.

• Calla 12 provides 4 x STS-3 or 1 x STS-12 and 2 GE or 16 FE.

• Calla 48 provides 4 x STS-12 or 1 x STS-48 and 6 GE or 16 FE.

• Calla 192 specifics have not been unveiled, but we assume it supports 4 x STS-48 or 1 x STS-192.

Broadway was the name of the first packet switch and now refers to a family of IP/Ethernet/MPLS packet switch chips that provide virtual switching and QoS for data offerings. Gardenia chips enables burstable Ethernet services over TDM systems with per customer virtual switching and QoS functions. Gardenia can be configured as an Ethernet/MPLS, IP/MPLS, or MPLS switch. It also performs Ethernet/MPLS and IP/MPLS conversion.

The Tpack key features and competitive advantages are found in the Gardenia device combined with the Calla device and the underlying software services with design-in support. When combined with the Calla interface device, Gardenia expands functionality with Ethernet services like MEF E-Line aggregation, E-LAN, IETF MPLS-based VPLS, IPLS and burstable Ethernet services. GARDENIA chips range from 5 Gbps to 20 Gbps.

• Gardenia provides 2.5 Gbps, 6Mpps, and QoS per customer.

• Gardenia II provides 5 Gbps, 9Mpps, and QoS per customer.

• Gardenia III features have not been disclosed.

Tpack also offers LCAS VCAT and VLAN/MPLS application packages and NMS integration software including MIB modules and alarm management. Paxford embedded software controls individual functions within devices belonging to the Norton and Broadway product families. Paxford is SNMP agent software that provides a management interface to modules with Tpack mapping and switching devices. Paxford is hardware independent by utilizing Cookhill device drivers, which encapsulate the complete embedded hardware layer and provide a generic POSIX compliant software interface.

As a “fabless module integrator,” Tpack offers both products and services to deliver complete modules consisting of mapping chips, switching chips, driver software, embedded software, protocol software, and network management software integration. Tpack also offes customization services for its chips and software, design-in services, and maintenance and training services.

Tpack can provide all relevant driver layer and application/NMS layer software closely designed together with the chipsets for its customers, which is one of Tpack’s key differentiators. Its software/design-in services reduce the system vendor’s time-to-market by 6-18 calendar months, according to the company.

Tpack chipsets are currently realized in Altera FPGAs, which are available in both softcopy and and cost optimized hardcopy versions. Calla-12 has been on the market for some time. Calla-48 LAN is available now. Calla-48 WAN will be introduced in Q1’04 and Calla-192 is scheduled for release later this year. Gardenia-I has been on the market for some time; Gardenia II is available now; and Gardenia III will be release later this year. CPE chips that combine Norton and Broadway features to facilitate intelligent Ethernet services will be introduced in 2004.

Tpack positions itself as a “virtual development arm” for large system vendors like Marconi, Nortel, Cisco, Siemens, Lucent, Tellabs, etc. Thus the company competes with design services firms and even in-house developments in addition to other chip companies. Chip providers like PMC, TranSwitch, Galazar, Vitesse and Infineon play in the framer/mapper arena. However, Tpack argues that these companies do not match its functional offering, specifically when discussing solutions that include Gardenia functionality and definitely not its software/design-in services.

Tpack has several customers in Asia, Europe and the US. Tellabs is a customer and several Tier 1 telecom companies have signed contracts with Tpack during 2003.

Soren Stovring-Hallsson, CEO (previously CEO of Powercom, which was sold to Swedish PTT, Telia, in 2001, wherupon he worked as the CEO for Telia fixed network operations in Denmark)

Henrik Nordvig, Co-founder & VP of Marketing & Sales (previously a sector manager at SAP)

Søren Hansen, Co-founder & CFO (previously held financial management positions at Tibnor, Ericsson and most recently Columbus IT Partner)

Per Hansen, Co-founder & CTO (previously worked for Intel, Tellabs and LSI Logic)

Kim Gormsen, Co-founder & Chief Development Officer (previously a designer at DSC Communications, Intel and I/O Consulting)

Rodger Thompson, Business Development