The open industry group overseeing the PowerPC architecture has gained seven new members, including two more embedded Linux providers. Power.org now boasts 35 corporate members, including semiconductor vendors, embedded design service companies, chip design tool vendors, chip foundries, OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), and hardware and software vendors.

Power.org was formed in late 2004 by IBM and 15 backing companies, shortly after IBM announced “Linux-like” licensing for its variant of the PowerPC ISA (instruction set architecture). Subsequently, the group managed to gain a venture capital advisory board, and publish a unified ISA (instruction set architecture) combining Motorola and IBM variants, among other accomplishments.

Newly announced Power.org members include:

• Lauterbach — German tools vendor and embedded design house
• LynuxWorks — Vendor of LynxOS RTOS and BlueCat Linux distribution
• P.A. Semi — Fabless vendor of PWRficient networking, storage, mil/aero, and wireless infrastructure chips
• VaST Systems Technology — Embedded system design and modeling tools vendor
• Tundra Semiconductor — system interconnect vendor, and parent company of ASIC/FPGA design house Silicon Logic Engineering
• Wind River — Vendor of VxWorks RTOS and Wind River Linux
• XGI — Fabless graphics chip design house

Additionally, embedded Linux provider MontaVista joined Power.org last month.

Currently, Power.org has five technical subcommittees (TSCs), three technical work groups, and a claimed 6,500 community participants. Venture capitalists have invested about $300 million in its startup member companies, it claims, and the organization will hold its first developer conference this fall.

Michael Paczan, Power.org Technical Committee chairman, stated, “Since the start of 2007 the organization has not only grown, but leveraged its members' expertise and commitment to deliver new standards, programs as well as increased business value to the design engineering community.”

 
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