In January 2006, YDreams closed a round of venture capital funding led by ES Tech Ventures somewhere in the neighborhood of 8.5 million Euros, which provided the company with the boost it needed to go to the next step. Most of you already know this, but I thought I’d take a trip down memory lane and share with you some of the months that led to Alfredo, our Director of Finance (most probably accompanied by his four-legged friend Bones) walking into our bank branch, wearing one of his trademark t-shirts, with a check for 8.5 million Euros in his pocket. I would’ve loved to have seen the look on that teller’s face.

The month’s that preceded January 2006 were grueling to say the least. We’re talking endless bureaucratic procedures such as scary legal due diligences and extensive financial audits. I personally recall a few all-nighters, buried under mountains of paper, crunching numbers and trying to figure out exactly what went where, when and how. I wasn’t alone of course. All us Jurassic YDreamers were in it together – just ask anyone who was around then – unless of course they’ve blocked it out entirely.

“Multi-tasking” was the word of the moment with everyone pitching in, doing pretty much anything from mounting projectors and preparing impactful presentations to scrambling for caterers willing to come to the FCT campus at the spur-of-the-moment for potential investors who seemed to pop in every other day. It was nerve-wrecking, often tiring but also extremely exciting. We were all sure something good was about to happen - it was almost palpable.

Interactivity is clearly the future. Drew Barrows, an NYU student has developed a virtual girlfriend for the Interactive Telecommunications Program Spring Show at the Tisch School of the Arts. This “girlfriend” uses INBED technology, and reacts to her “partners” every move. If he lies on his back, then she curls up onto him, if he curls up into the popular fetal position, she will join him. Although this 2D projection doesn’t speak, it interacts to people’s movements.

Could Flapi, our Internet celebrity, eventually turn into a walking and talking boyfriend? If this existed when I was a kid, then my imaginary friend who lived in the attic could be seen, heard and interacted with, and I might not have been labelled as a lonely only child - just a nerd.

Source: New York Magazine ; Drew Burrows (Image)

After delivery of the first information point to a school in the greater Lisbon area, a second information point has reached the Azores. A school in Ponta Delgada, the archipelago’s capital city, was the proud recipient of a pair of solar panels as well as one of our “Escola Solar”(Solar School) information points.

The info points give students a chance to learn more about how Solar Energy is produced and the processes involved. They also provide additional updated info about how much solar energy is being produced by the panels installed at each of the twenty schools involved in the project.

The initiative was promoted by “Better World”, Rock & Rio’s agency for sustainable development, which has selected the environment as this year’s theme.

2 down, 18 to go!

The premiere launch at school in Estoril, Portugal

Games Alfresco has just referenced YDreams’ SimVideo as one of the top 10 Augmented Reality engines around (post). The blog is dedicated to the pursuit of the ultimate augmented reality game, and features a lot of information about AR and related developments. Jump to gamesalfresco.com for more.

This month’s Exame magazine has an article about innovation in the business world. The piece also features a survey about innovation practices and perceptions in Portugal, and a top 10 of Portugal’s most innovative companies. YDreams ranked 3rd place, behind big players like Renova and Brisa.

The complete ranking:

1 Renova
2 Brisa (Via Verde)
3 YDreams
4 Vodafone
5 Bial
6 Martifer
7 Logoplaste
8 TMN
9 Galp Energia
10 Compal

Reuters reports on the implementation of a 4th basic element for passive electronic circuits achieved by Hewlett-Packard.

The memristor, till now merely theoretical, opens the possibility for zero-wait-time devices.

http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN3055349720080430

HP Labs have been at the forefront of electrotechnical/electronic engineering with such milestones as developing the first commercial LEDs in 1968 and launching the first thermal inkjet printer in 1984. Their estimate is that for each good idea that reaches production, there are about a dozen flops. Current research includes utility computing and quantum computing.

Darius Mahdjoubi, a researcher at the University of Texas at Austin, believes that YDreams is a “gazelle” type company: one that, after years of consistent development of intellectual property and products, will grow “explosively” in the global market. Darius will actually follow our development in the coming years to verify his research hypothesis.

YDreams founders are determined to contribute towards Darius’ research success. Like many “gazelle” companies before us (most historic tech companies were once “gazelles”), we have a strong vision, superb research and international class products and project development. YDreams intends to be the world leader in the creation of unique interactive objects and environments. References such as NOKIA, Vodafone, Adidas, Nike, Coca-Cola and Portugal Telecom in over fifteen countries have provided YDreams with the required credibility to claim such leadership.

A few months ago we realized we needed the help of a senior manager to take YDreams to the next level. We could not be happier with the person that is now our new Chief Operating Officer: Victor Centeno. Victor brings a wealth of management and marketing experiences from his tenures at companies such as Johnson and Johnson and Diageo in several countries. He will be instrumental in setting the environment for the success of the new YDreams products that will be launched in May 2008.

Not long ago YDreams had to suffer through cramped Portuguese offices located in Lisbon and Caparica. Today we are very happy with our new headquarters located on the campus of the New University of Lisbon in Caparica. The 2000 square meter building houses all YDreams divisions and displays most of our past and current work. YDreamers are also able to use the facility to support extra-curricular activities: our rock band will have a studio; we will have locker rooms for our surfers, bikers, tennis, basketball and football players. There will be also a bio-agricultural field for those inclined to cultivate it.

YDreams has entered a new era.

*[editorial featured on the fourth edition of our quarterly Newsletter]