Xybernaut
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| Xybernaut Corporation | |
| Type | Technology |
|---|---|
| Founded | (1990) |
| Headquarters | Chantilly, Virginia, USA |
| Website | [1] |
Xybernaut Corporation is a provider of wearable / mobile computing hardware, software and services, bringing communications and full-function computing power in a hands-free design. Its products included the Atigo tablet PC and the MA-V wearable computer. [1]
The company was headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, until 2006, when it moved to Chantilly.
Contents |
[edit] Early history
Xybernaut was founded in 1990 by Edward G. Newman, whose brother Steven A. Newman joined the company four years later. The company was originally called Computer Products & Services, Incorporated (CPSI).
In 1996, the company changed its name to Xybernaut and went public.[2] It then posted 33 consecutive quarterly losses [3]
In mid-1998, former Virginia governor George Allen joined the company's board of directors.[4] He remained on the board until December 2000, resigning after he was elected a U.S. Senator the month before. In 1998 and 1999, McGuire Woods LLP, the law firm that Allen was a partner of, billed $315,925 to Xybernaut for legal work. Allen remained on the Xybernaut board until December 2000. He was granted 110,000 options of company stock that, at their peak, were worth $1.5 million, but he never exercised those options, which expired 90 days after he left the board.[5]
In September 1999, the company's board dismissed the company's accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, which had issued a report with a "going concern" paragraph that questioned the company’s financial health. [6]
[edit] Fraud charges and bankruptcy
In April 2005, Edward Newman, then CEO, and his brother Steven, president and COO, were pushed out under accusations that they used company funds for personal expenses, employed family members without disclosing it to the SEC, failed to inform the board of directors about the finances of major deals, and interfered with a company audit committee investigation. Their ouster follows the company's receipt in February of a Securities and Exchange Commission subpoena concerning sales of Xybernaut stock. [3]
In July 2005 Xybernaut filed for bankruptcy reorganization, after an internal investigation reported that the firm’s CEO and his brother, the COO, had committed a variety of misdeeds. Xybernaut did have some success selling its technology to customers such as grocery chain Tesco PLC and the U.S. Army. But Tim Shea, a senior analyst at Venture Development Corportaion, said that "They've been sowing the seeds pretty well, but part of the problem is that they have this line of products that were a little on the big and bulky side and had battery problems." [7] In January, 2007, Xybernaut emerged from bankruptcy protection, following a reorganization. [8]
[edit] References
- ^ Rich Smith, "Xybernaut's Hatchet Job: A Ghoulish Trick for Halloween, Motley Fool, October 27, 2004
- ^ "Xybernaut Corporation: New Name, New Web Site", May 28, 1996, press release
- ^ a b Ellen McCarthy, "Xybernaut Hid Gathering Storm In Bright Forecasts", Washington Post, April 21, 2005
- ^ [http://sec.edgar-online.com/1998/10/01/08/0000910680-98-000357/Section9.asp Xybernaut October 1, 1999 SB-2 SEC filing
- ^ Garance Franke-Ruta,"Just a Gigolo: In the go-go ’90s, George Allen sat on the board of a Virginia tech company. Now, the company faces several class-action suits and an SEC insiders probe", American Prospect magazine, issue date of September 12, 2006
- ^ Xybernaut SEC filing, Form 8-K, September 19, 1999
- ^ Ellen McCarthy, "Xybernaut Files For Bankruptcy Protection: Firm Considers Selling Its $40 Million in Assets", Washington Post, July 27, 2005
- ^ Press Release, "Xybernaut Corporation Announces Emergence from Chapter 11", "Xybernaut.com", January 11, 2007
