Mission
Quantum Leaps™' mission is to bring quantum-leaps of innovation to embedded systems programming. We are dedicated to providing simple, practical software solutions that enable using modern hierarchical state machines, active object computing, or framework-based application development directly at the level of C or C++ programming language without big tools.
Our goal is to dispel the various misunderstandings and make modern state machines, active object computing, UML, object-oriented programming, design by contract, and other such profound software concepts more accessible to embedded systems community.
Business Model
Quantum Leaps™, LLC is a second-generation open source company that has established sustainable business based on dual-licensing of open source software. Second-generation open source companies make the majority of their revenue from selling software licenses. This license-based business model offers higher margins than services-based businesses. Historically, most first-generation open source companies have tried to generate revenue by selling services and support. Second-generation open source companies such as MySQL, Sleepycat, or Trolltech have pioneered the dual-licensing business model in the IT sector. Now Quantum Leaps™, LLC is championing it in the embedded systems industry.
The disruptive Professional Open Source model that we practice combines the best of the open source and proprietary software worlds to make open source a safe choice for the embedded systems vendors. This includes the unrestricted software downloads, transparent development and active community inherent in open source as well as professional documentation and support services expected of a traditional software vendor. In contrast to most open source offerings, second-generation companies entirely own and control all the Intellectual Property in their software. Therefore we can offer closed-source licensing and the accountability for the licensed Intellectual Property to all customers interested in retaining the proprietary character of their software.
Top of pageManagement
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Dr. Miro Samek, President Dr. Samek is the author of Practical Statecharts in C/C++ (CMP Books, 2002), has written dozens of articles for trade magazines, is a regular speaker at the Embedded Systems Conferences, and serves on the editorial review board of the Embedded Systems Design magazine. Before founding Quantum Leaps, LLC, Miro worked as Software Architect at Global Locate (San Jose, CA), where he re-architected embedded software for GPS chipsets used in mobile phones and before that designed GPS receiver firmware for IntegriNautics Corporation (now Novariant, Menlo Park, CA). Miro started his embedded software career at GE Medical Systems (now GE Healthcare), where he has developed safety-critical, real-time software for diagnostic imaging x-ray machines. He earned his Ph.D. in nuclear physics at GSI (Darmstadt, Germany). |
Top of pageHistory & Milestones
| 2007 | Quantum Leaps, LLC closes the year doubling commercial licensing revenue from the year before. |
| 2007 | Quantum Leaps, LLC moves to Chapel Hill in North Carolia—just minues to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and to the Research Triangle Park. |
| 2006 | Quantum Leaps, LLC closes the year more than doubling the licensing revenue from the year before. Several repeat customers apply for new licenses. |
| 2006 | Quantum Leaps, LLC presents a workship at the 7th Software Design For Medical Devices conference in San Diego, California. |
| 2006 | Quantum Platform integrated with uC/GUI from Micrium and emWin from SEGGER. |
| 2006 | Quantum Leaps, LLC adds support for several CPUs and compilers: ARM Cortex-M3, Atmel AVR, TI MSP430, 8051/80251, Altera Nios II, Freescale HC(S)08, Renesas M16C, and others. |
| 2006 | Quantum Platform port to Linux with POSIX-Threads included in the Generally Available release of QP™. |
| 2006 | Quantum Platform ported to Win32, including Win32-GUI API and MFC. |
| 2006 | Quantum Leaps, LLC presents at the GSPx Conference in Santa Clara, California. |
| 2006 | Quantum Leaps, LLC exhibitis in the Disruptive Zone at the Embeddede Systems Conference Boston. |
| 2006 | Quantum Leaps, LLC exhibits at the Embedded System Conference Silicon Valley |
| 2006 | Quantum Leaps, LLC releases Quantum Platform Nano (QP-nano)--the world's smallest real-time framework that brings UML state machines and fully preemptive mutlitasking to the smallest embedded microcontrollers |
| 2005 | Quantum Leaps closes the year with several Fortune 500 commercial customers |
| 2005 | Quantum Development Kits™ for ARM-based CPUs released |
| 2005 | Quantum Spy™ software tracing added to the QP components |
| 2004 | First customers purchase commercial licenses and service |
| 2004 | All components of Quantum Platform released under the dual-license model |
| 2004 | Quantum Leaps founded |
| 2004 | Quantum Framework v.3.0 developed and integrated with Quantum Kernel |
| 2004 | Dr. Miro Samek presents at Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) |
| 2003 | Quantum Kernel developed and tested on 80x86 and ARM CPUs |
| 2003 | 1000th e-mail exchanged with the users of the Quantum Framework |
| 2003 | Practical Statecharts in C/C++ slash-dotted; the book is the #1 bestseller at the Embedded Systems Conference in San Francisco |
| 2003 | "The Embedded Angle" C/C++ Users Journal column published |
| 2002 | Ed Nisley, devotes his entire "Embedded Space" DDJ column to Practical Statecharts in C/C++ |
| 2002 | Practical Statecharts in C/C++ published |
| 2001 | Quantum Framework matures through several iterations |
| 2000 | First practical Hierarchical State Machine implementation makes a cover story of the ESP magazine |
| 1998 | First version of Quantum Framework powers up a GPS receiver at IntegriNautics Corporation (now Novariant, Inc.) |
Top of pageLast updated: May 30, 2007