WiFi mesh startup SkyPilot Networks Inc. is refusing to confirm or deny speculation of major layoffs at the company.
"We don't comment on rumors," a company spokesman told Unstrung.
Word has it that SkyPilot has chopped a significant number of staff in a bid to cut its costs. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company has raised $68 million in funding since its inception in 2000. SkyPilot announced its latest round of $21 million in July 2006.
One industry source says that the firm has laid off at least 50 percent of its 80-plus employees since April. The axe fell most heavily on the sales and marketing departments, the source claims.
The source adds that SkyPilot is looking for a buyer.
The layoff talk comes at a fluid time for the mesh WiFi market. Marketing VP Nan Chen recently left his position at Strix Systems Inc. for pastures unknown, and there is continual chatter about hirings and firings in this niche market. (See Chen Gone From Strix.)
Not surprising; expect more of the same. The promise of Wi-Fi subscribers in numbers necessary to support these monster networks is a phantom. Demand for city wide mobility is coming, but not until converged handhelds are ubiquitous will the bulk of city dwellers be bothered with switching over from DSL/Cable. Meanwhile, low take rates... low returns.
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