IP entrant takes standard PCI to the X level

IP entrant takes standard PCI to the X level
By Michael Santarini, EE Times
December 13, 1999 (1:28 p.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG19991213S0019

Hoping to lead a second wave of intellectual-property (IP) companies to success, DCM Technologies, a recent spinout of Indian conglomerate the DCM Group, has announced its entry into the IP market as well as its first offering: a PCI-X core called Corex-V10. The company hopes to shake off a general perception that standards-based IP is a flat segment. But it may prove a long row to hoe, as the standards-based IP market has proven to be turbulent.

Roughly three years ago, several design-service-groups-turned-IP-vendors jumped into the market with 32-bit, 33-MHz cores. The sheer number of competitors, subsequent design-in horror stories and a low barrier to entry dropped the value of 32/33 PCI from roughly $400,000 to free. Out of that rubble only a few companies survived-most notably Phoenix Technologies, which recently spun off its IP group toward a possible IPO (see related story, page 65).