Wireless Internet start-up firm OpenGrid Inc. found itself in the wireless spotlight last week when industry titans Motorola Inc. and Philippe Kahn-chief executive officer of Motorola’s Starfish Software subsidiary-invested in the company.
Additionally, the charismatic Kahn was named OpenGrid’s chairman.
While the total investment equaled only $8 million-$5 million from Motorola, $1.5 million from Kahn and the remainder from various venture capitalists and private funding-it is Motorola’s intentions for OpenGrid that has raised eyebrows.
The previous week, Motorola announced a deal with America Online Inc. to develop a means of extending AOL’s instant-messaging applications to wireless devices.
OpenGrid services are expected to be the engine behind that effort.
But OpenGrid President Jens Horstmann said instant messaging is only a small portion of the company’s overall goal. He said OpenGrid hopes to create an environment he called Open Interchange-combining instant messaging, wireless messaging and wireless networking to allow data-enabled devices on any type of network to engage in a virtual conversation and manage their Internet-based information.
“Instant messaging is the thing of the day,” he said. “The AOL-Motorola thing made a lot of press, but it’s only just a part of what we’re doing.”
Horstmann envisions an application that will allow one person at a computer, one using a phone and another using a palmtop device to interact with each other at the same time via messaging, accessing Internet-based calendar information and other services.
The idea centers on converging wireless and wireline technologies, so the same Internet information can be accessed from a wireless or wireline device.
To do this, Horstmann said users must be able to keep one Internet e-mail identity for all devices. The company aims to create a server-based filtering system that gets the message to the right device, so users keep only one Internet identity accessed by several devices.
Having originated as an Internet software company, OpenGrid’s core competencies remained Internet e-commerce applications until it acquired wireless data firm WaveForce, once owned by Kahn. It then bought Klick Media to add networking functions.
According to Horstmann, Kahn’s role as the company’s chairman is central to its new focus in the wireless arena.
“We had a lot of experience in the Internet and commerce area, but not the wireless area,” he said.
As such, OpenGrid is creating applications to sit atop existing Wireless Application Protocol architecture.
“Everything we do on the wireless side is a WAP application,” he said. “We’re not trying to get into the space of Phone.com. We’re not doing software infrastructure or gateways. We’ll be sitting on the top of that and providing interesting applications.”
Who exactly will buy OpenGrid applications remains a question. At issue is the still-unknown factor of who will own wireless portal customers. To date, Internet portals have taken the lead in extending their Internet portal sites to the wireless arena. Expected soon with the advent of WAP services are wireless carriers making their own wireless portals, from where subscribers may choose information and services.
Whichever options prove most popular with users will continue to be a question until such enhanced services become more prevalent. In the meantime, OpenGrid will sell its WAP application to either.
“We’re talking to manufacturers like Motorola, to carriers, to Internet service providers,” Horstmann said. “Once carriers establish WAP gateways, ISPs will use this software to enter the wireless space. We’re waiting to see who owns the customer.”
He expects to preview a prototype product in conjunction with Motorola by next month, with commercial products introduced in the first or second quarter of next year.
“The key is that we want to establish ourselves with a number of different partners in the messaging space,” Horstmann said. “Instant messaging is a big part of it, but we want to move beyond that.”
