Interview with the CEO of Esfia, an Embedded Linux startup

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Rick Lehrbaum �� (Nov. 21, 2000)

A brand new embedded Linux software company recently joined the growing number of Asian companies that are embedding Linux within consumer Internet and information appliances. During the week of Comdex Fall 2000, Taiwan-based Esfia unleashed a volley of product and technology announcements and launched its new website (story).

To learn more about this new Embedded Linux startup, I contacted Eric Lee, President and CEO of Esfia, who graciously replied to my questions about his company's background, strategies, products, and technologies.

RL: First, could you give some general background about Esfia?

Lee: Esfia is a software-based embedded Linux solutions company which delivers open source software and turnkey solutions for the worldwide Internet appliance market. The main shareholders, except for the management team, are FIC group and Sunsino Ventures group. During past six months, Esfia has implemented the Linux operating system for embedded software applications. Our product, which is known as RedBlue Linux (info), includes state-of-art browsers for different applications and some multimedia applications for the rapidly emerging embedded Linux marketplace. We have successfully developed 802.11b Webpad and Bluetooth PDA reference platforms, based on Transmeta Crusoe 3400 and NEC VR4181 processors, using our software as mentioned previously.

RL: Who is on Esfia's team?

Lee: Chad Lai and Ray Huang are active [developers] in the open source community, and are aggressively contributing to the wireless Linux world. Our CTO, Guardian Lee, was a key person in early Taiwanese Unix society, and is the author of a C language debugger. I serve as the company's CEO, hold a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, and specialize in technology and market trends.

RL: When did you form Esfia?

Lee: Esfia's debut was on July 1st, 2000. However, before this, Esfia's team members had already accumulated plenty of embedded Linux knowledge from various sources.

RL: What are Esfia's strategies and plans?

Lee: Esfia is going to establish an R&D and sales office in Shanghai, China in the beginning of 2001, and later in the US. Also, we are currently developing a cross platform development kit for various CPUs, to support system integrators. Third, we will do localization in the Internet Appliance market. At the same time, we are seeking to form partnerships with hardware manufacturers, in terms of developing additional reference platforms.

RL: What markets and applications does Esfia plan to target?

Lee: Esfia will target the Internet Appliance market, with wireless and multimedia applications. "ESFIA" stands for: Embedded Solutions For Internet Appliances.

RL: How will Esfia make money from Linux? Is all of the software you develop going to be open source? Will you charge money for services, support, tools?

Lee: We would like to be a member of the open source community, and everything will follow the GPL rules. We will charge for service, support, and tools. Also, since Taiwan is the manufacturing ground for [much] of the world's personal electronic products and equipment, including many Internet appliances, which will likely operate on embedded Linux, Esfia will partner with these manufacturing companies to provide a total solution for companies who would like to have their own brand names. This business model is new, but is likely to be feasible. In the Internet appliance market, unlike the PC market, the hardware design is relatively easy. Therefore, a software-based company could offer [software services and support] for various applications. In this model, the software will be [bundled] with the hardware.

RL: You have announced a pair of reference designs -- one, a webpad based on Crusoe; and the other, a PDA based on an NEC VR4181 system-on-chip. Is your company supplying just the software for these designs, or are you providing both the software and the hardware? What software will be available for free download? What, sold under license?

Lee: We do the software designs ourselves, and outsource the hardware, manufacturing, and industrial designs. The customers may want to change some specs; if so, we will customize it for them. Customers will pay for this "total solution." Our software will be available for download from our website soon -- we will follow the GPL rules.

RL: I'm still not quite clear about the reference designs. Precisely what are you selling? A software solution? A hardware/software solution?

Lee: A software/hardware solution. We wish to sell our turnkey solutions (software, hardware, and industrial design) to companies like Compaq, HP, IBM, etc. who would like to put their brand name on our products. Those companies might [want to] customize their products, and we will make changes . . . for them. We are selling these turnkey solutions. You can say, we are a software and hardware ODM (original design manufacturer) company. Our manufacturing partners are, currently, FIC and MiTAC. But if the customers want to do their own manufacturing, we will sell them services, tools and, for some applications, royalties.

RL: Back to the technologies; in your PDA reference design, what are you using for the GUI framework: Microwindows? Tiny-X? Qt/Embedded? What about a browser: ViewML? Mozilla? Opera?

Lee: Currently, we are working with both Tiny-X and Microwindows, for the GUI framework. The browser is ViewML. For other applications and drivers, we are the source for these devices.

RL: When will your software be available for distribution? Will anything licensed under GPL be available for free download from your website?

Lee: The software will be available for free download a few weeks after we complete our products.

RL: Thank you very much! Good luck with your exciting new enterprise!

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