Former Microsoft strategist Thomas Reardon is starting a firm called Avogadro that develops technology for helping computer users move back and forth between wireless devices and desktop computers.
The new company has obtained $7.5 million for its first round of financing, mostly from Ignition Corp., a 7-month-old venture capital firm that focuses on new wireless technologies.
Reardon has been joined by former Microsoft executives John Cordell, Sam McKelvie and Robert Williams. The four helped develop Internet Explorer, MSN Messenger and Windows 95 Networking software.
Reardon, chief executive of Avogadro, was a Microsoft strategist in battles with Novell and Netscape.
"We've done big, $100 million-plus products like Internet Explorer ..." said Reardon. "We have a go big or go home philosophy."
Reardon would not talk specifically about the company's products.
"A lot of other companies are blowing off the desktop, and we think that's silly. Our founding philosophy is that in the next three to five years, there's no such thing as a wireless Web user who's not a PC user," Reardon said.
Besides Ignition, first-round investors include Rob Glaser, RealNetworks founder and chief executive; Arthur van Hoff, co-creator of Java and chief technology officer of Marimba; Max Metral, founder of Firefly and chief technology officer of PeoplePC; Mike Slade, former chief executive of Starwave; and Neal Stephenson, author of the high-tech thrillers "Snow Crash" and "Cryptonomicon."
