Wind River Systems, US developers of embedded systems development tools, has announced a strategic partnership with Emultek Inc, the Israeli virtual prototyping software company. For an investment of $4m, Wind River receives a seat on the board of Jerusalem-based Emultek, and Emultek says it is looking forward to reaping the benefits of Wind River’s experience in embedded systems, both in terms of marketing and the future direction of its research and development. Wind River’s flagship Tornado suite of tools is designed for those developing the software for embedded microprocessors. The company has been traded on Nasdaq since 1993 and reported revenues of $64m dollars for its 1997 fiscal year. Emultek’s Rapid software tool is used by companies such as Motorola Inc, Samsung Electric Co and US Airways to produce fully-working computer simulations, aimed at reducing the time to market of devices such as cellular phones, fax machines, televisions and aeroplanes. Emultek, which has US offices in Herndon, Virginia, announced plans at the beginning of December to raise $24m on Wall Street, valuing the company at $99m, but no date has yet been set for the IPO. It will depend on market conditions, says the company.
