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Ridge lands Cisco Systems for Pittsburgh Digital Greenhouse
Friday, October 29, 1999 By Dan Fitzpatrick, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
As part of his multimillion dollar attempt to make Western Pennsylvania a leader in advanced chip design, Gov. Ridge today expects to sign computer networking giant Cisco Systems Inc. to a deal with the Pittsburgh Digital Greenhouse.
The Greenhouse team, which hopes such a deal will lead to a Cisco design complex, also is holding initial discussions with Marshall-based Fore Systems, one of Cisco's rivals.
Ridge's San Jose meeting with Cisco Systems today is part of a three-day tour of the West Coast that includes get-togethers with Microsoft's Bill Gates, Oracle's Larry Ellison, 3Com and America Online Inc.
Cisco's agreement with the Pittsburgh Digital Greenhouse commits the company to a $100,000 contribution, a spot on the Greenhouse's advisory board and a promise to consider southwestern Pennsylvania when building its next design center.
Digital Greenhouse officials expect their effort to create 1,500 jobs in three years by making it easier for electronics companies to develop ideas, share technology and bring their products to market more quickly.
Cisco is the second big company to join Greenhouse in the last nine days. On Oct. 20, Tokyo electronics giant Casio Computer Corp. signed a deal with Ridge and agreed to similar terms.
The first three firms to participate in the Digital Greenhouse were Sony Corp., Silicon Valley chip software firm Cadence Design Systems Inc. and Oki Electric Industry Co., a $5.7 billion telecommunications giant. The partnership also includes three startups, three universities, the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, the Pittsburgh Technology Council and the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. In addition, the state has promised $10 million on top of $3.2 million it already has invested.
As part of Cisco's agreement, the company gets a license to any technology created by the Greenhouse team.
Landing Cisco is a coup for the Greenhouse team. The San Jose-based company is one of the largest in the computer networking industry, with 21,000 employees and sales of $12.15 billion.
"Cisco has been on my radar screen since day one," said Digital Greenhouse CEO Dennis Yablonsky.
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