AGOURA HILLS, Calif., Nov. 15 (LocalBusiness.com) -- Perhaps one local tech company has finally put a face on the Internet. The company is named, using generic terms, "Internet Machines."

But machines have changed. Internet Machines Corp. is a fabless chip maker. To one of its founders, Chris Hoogenboom the name fits pretty well, since the small start-up "designs the silicon that drives Internet machinery."

The "machinery" that the company is concerned with typically sits at the core of the networks -- the routers and switches that send information along the highways and back roads of the Internet.

Agoura Hills, Calif.-based Internet Machines has designed chips to take information -- voice, video and data -- that has been transferred into the Internet Protocol (IP), and then send it on its way.

The privately held company's business plan is to sell its network processors to companies that buy large amounts of chips, such as Cisco Systems Inc., Sycamore Networks Inc., Juniper Networks Inc. and Nortel Networks Corp.

"Our list of potential customers is pretty long," said Hoogenboom, who is also chairman, president and CEO of Internet Machines.

As a fabless chip maker, Internet Machines could be considered the design division of a larger company that has to build its own chips.

Usually, designing and building chips for a fast moving market like fiber optics can eat up a lot of a company's research and development budget, plus it may take a company out of its core business.

Hoogenboom said the market for chips made in-house for routers and switches is estimated at $15 billion a year. Internet Machines wants to grab this market and give its customers a quicker time to market at a cheaper rate by offering its chips as an alternative.

Internet Machines is banking on a trend in the tech industry. As certain types of chips become more common, companies begin allowing outside firms, like Internet Machines, to provide the chips.

"The trend is already started," Hoogenboom told LocalBusiness.com.

While Hoogenboom said the company should start shipping products and turning revenue in 2001, right now, it's still in the start-up mode, which is where he wants it.

"The innovation right now is coming from start-up companies," Hoogenboom said.

Since its founding in January of this year with four employees, Internet Machines has grown to 100 employees, mostly engineers, and raised $40 million in venture funding.

Looking ahead, Hoogenboom expects Internet Machines to grow 70 percent year-over-year, and an initial public offering is certainly a possibility.

COMPANY: Internet Machines Corp.

INDUSTRY: Internet infrastructure/semiconductors.

PRODUCT: Develops chips and software for networking devices.

YEAR FOUNDED: January 2000.

MANAGEMENT: Chris Hoogenboom, founder, chairman, president and CEO -- an electrical engineer with patents in the networking area and previous experience at Xylan Corp. and General Instrument Corp.; Frank P. Knuettel, II, founder, chief financial officer and vice president of operations -- an MBA from The Wharton School and background at Viking Systems Inc. and Fightertown Entertainment; Phil Terry, founder -- system architect, previous experience at Xylan Corp.; John Wallner, founder, vice president of engineering -- previous experience at Xylan Corp. and Neural Semiconductor Corp., a law degree and an MS in Computer Science and BS in Computer Engineering.

EMPLOYEES: More than 100, most are engineers.

INVESTORS: $40 million in two rounds from Menlo Park, Calif.-based Redpoint Ventures and Meritech Capital Partners of Palo Alto, Calif.

COMPETITORS: Camarillo, Calif.-based Vitesse Semiconductor Corp., San Diego Applied Micro Circuits Corp., Campbell,Calif.-based PMC-Sierra Inc.

REVENUE: Expects revenue in 2001.

CONTACT: Internet Machines Corp., 30501 Agoura Road Suite 203, Agoura Hills, CA 91301, Phone: (818)575-2100, Fax: (818) 575-2105