Sources inform ''Globes'' that expatriate Israeli investor Ephraim (Efi) Gildor has bought the intellectual property of start-up Chiaro Networks for less than $10 million. Chiaro developed a multi-channel router communications platform for consolidating networks, and has raised an incredible $216 million to date.
Chiaro has 150 employees, including 30 R&D staff until recently employed at the company's now closed Jerusalem development center. It was considered one of the more promising companies toward the end of the high-tech bubble. Chiaro aimed at a market controlled by two giants - Cisco Systems (Nasdaq:CSCO) and Juniper Networks (Nasdaq:JNPR) - and unsuccessfully tried to break into the market. Chiaro ambitiously tried to win 15% of a $1.5 billion market.
Chiaro founder, VP and general manager Dr. Eyal Shekel denied today's report.
Gildor was one of the first investors in Chiaro, and has a small stake in it. Gildor made most of his fortune from the sale of Arbitrade, which specialized in computerized options trading, to Knight Securities for $460 million. Gildor made $150 million on the sale, and has subsequently been a partner in a slew of investments in Israeli start-ups.
Gildor recently acquired 4.5% of Saifun Semiconductors Ltd. for $27 million. He was an investor in Accord Networks, sold to Polycom Inc. (Nasdaq:PLCM); in Advanced Stent Technologies (AST), sold to Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE:BSX); in Ceragon Networks Ltd. (Nasdaq: CRNT; TASE:CRNT); Metalink Ltd. (Nasdaq:MTLK;TASE:MTLK); and XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (LSE: XTL). He is also a shareholder in the Richter family's Medinol Ltd.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on May 30, 2005