Smooth-Stone, a 2-year-old chip startup in Austin recently raised $48 million in first round financing. This money comes from a syndicate of three venture capital firms and three companies in the industry (including TI and ARM).  Analysts expect Smooth-Stone to deliver a line of ARM based energy-efficient processors geared toward the needs of server manufacturers.  Currently there are no ARM-based chips used in servers (although rumor has it that Marvell has a project in the works).  Thus to date Intel has a lock on much of the server market. 

But much to Intel's chagrin, despite their best efforts with the Atom, ARM based designs are carrying the day in the mobile market. Thus, even though they are huge and have enormous market share, things may get very interesting for Intel as the focus on power density in servers starts to heat up (pun intended).  My guess is that Smooth-Stone will also find manufacturers in the embedded space (as well as the server manufacturers they are targeting) very interested in their line of ARM based, server class processors.

Last week Freescale (formerly Motorola) announced an Intelligent Hospital Kiosk. I believe that the medical market offers significant opportunity for embedded computing manufacturers and integrators. But I find it hard to imagine that this will ever be a successful business for Freescale Semiconductor. Seems like Freescale would do better to spend their energies asking themselves how they can add value to the likes of Siemens, GE, Toshiba, Medtronic, etc. ... rather than how can they compete with them.

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There is a tsunami sweeping over the embedded computing space. There will always be a ready market for companies that are innovative ... and who can deliver cutting edge technology to the embedded marketplace. But traditional suppliers in the embedded space can no longer charge a premium for what is essentially PC hardware.

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If you're not watching what SiLabs is doing ... you might want to consider starting.  They bring some very innovative solutions to the party ... and are positioning themselves to do even more in the future.  Consider three recent (within the last 10 days) announcements: Gate drivers w/ 5 kV isolation.   Complete solution for wireless mesh network. Acquisition of Silicon Clocks (which gives SiLabs the capability to do on-chip MEMS).  With so much of the industry buzz focused on processors and software ... it's refreshing to see some innovation directed towards the issues related to connecting (and interconnecting) in the real world.

This week when the Embedded Systems Conference Silicon Valley opens in the San Jose Convention Center, it will have something it has never had before ... Dell as an exhibitor.  For many it will be a shock to learn that Dell has 1,500 embedded customers, spanning 40 different vertical markets. Dell has been participating in the embedded market for  +13 years ... and last week Rick Froehlich, the VP and General Manager of Dell OEM Solutions, told me that this is a now a +$1B business for Dell. 

Not all Dell OEM customers are in the embedded computing market ... but all Dell embedded customers are OEMs.  And Rick figures that the total available embedded computing market, worldwide is approaching $40B.  No wonder Michael Dell has an interest in pursuing it.

If you’re skeptical about Dell's success in the embedded computing market, peruse some of these case studies that are posted on the web: Siemens Industry, Inc.; TS-Associates plc; e-Cop; Amulet Hotkey; ATEME; Google; Polycom; IronPort Systems; Ingrian Networks, Inc.; Enterasys Networks; Concurrent Computer Corporation; Trinity Biotech; Symantec; ScienceLogic; RCS; Riverbed Technology; Raw Thrills; Norman ASA; NEI.

And if you want to learn more about what Dell is doing in the embedded space, the 2010 ESC Silicon Valley is a good place to start.  Dell has a booth (#629) on the show floor.  And on Wednesday (April 28) Rick Froehlich, the VP and General Manager of Dell OEM Solutions, will be participating in a panel moderated by Patrick Mannion (Editorial Director, EE Times Group).  The title: Build vs. Buy: Roll Your Own HW/SW vs. Buying Off the Shelf.  (This makes good sense to me ... vendors in the embedded space often say that their most formidable competition comes from internal design.)

Also on Wednesday, Franklin Flint (Global Enterprise Technology Evangelist, Dell OEM Solutions) and Josh Neland (Global Client Technology Evangelist, Dell OEM Solutions) will be giving a presentation titled: Factoring in Total Cost of Ownership When Designing an Embedded Solution.

If you’re putting together a new embedded system you may be pleasantly surprised by the performance, flexibility, lifecycle support, global service and price of the Dell embedded solutions.  If you’re a board vendor that has PCIe I/O hardware for a specific vertical market, then it might be well worth your while to start exploring how you can work with Dell to provide complete solutions into that vertical you know so well.  And if you’re a motherboard or box level vendor in the embedded computing space ... then you might want to study Dell to see what you’re up against.

All in all, the ESC this year promises to be a very interesting event ... perhaps like none other.