MEMX announces the appointment of Mike Hodges as President and CEO.  Mike, a seasoned veteran of telecom startups, has an extensive track record in the formation and growth of successful optical companies.  He has served as CEO, during the formative stages, of companies such as Onetta, Tellium, Bandwidth9 and Biometric Imaging.  In 2000, Mr. Hodges served as CEO of Onetta growing the company to 100 people and in 1999 served as CEO of Tellium  growing the company to a staff of 140 and in both cases brought the companies to the point of first revenue. 

“I have spent a number of years involved in both MEMS and electrical-optical switching. The technology resident at MEMX has an incredible depth and flexibility that will enable the gradual transition from the current generation of electrical switches to all-optical switches”, Hodges says.

MEMX also announces a new funding round, including investments from Sequoia Capital, Austin Ventures, TMA Ventures, and Council Ventures.

“After thoroughly investigating all the opportunities available in the MEMS area, Sequoia chose to invest in MEMX due to its extensive technology and diverse application potential. We are also fortunate to have been able to recruit Mike Hodges who as CEO has helped launch two other successful Sequoia companies,” according to Chris Rust, a Partner at Sequoia Capital. 

Stephen Straus, General Partner at Austin Ventures adds, "We had developed a framework for determining the best MEMS technology and team through our evaluation of multiple MEMS sub system and component opportunities. MEMX had the complete package - terrific technology, outstanding team and easy multi-market adaptability. We quickly came to the conclusion that if there was only one MEMS opportunity that we wanted to back, this was it." 

“We are delighted to have Mike Hodges on board”, says Paul McWhorter, CTO and founder of MEMX. “We are extremely fortunate to have a person of his experience and stature in the industry. We are equally pleased in securing Sequoia Capital and Austin Ventures as backers of MEMX.”

About MEMX

Leveraging 10 years and $100M of MEMS research at Sandia National Laboratories, MEMX will develop, manufacture and market sub-systems for the telecom industry. 

MEMX brings the world's most advanced MEMS capability to the telecom space. The MEMX technical team spent ten years at Sandia National Laboratories developing and perfecting the revolutionary SUMMiT V MEMS technology. MEMX will be the vehicle to commercialize this technology, taking it out of the labs and into the Telecom world.