NICTA spin-off chalks up a billion mobile handsets

NICTA spin-out company and leading mobile virtualisation provider Open Kernel Labs has announced the deployment of its software in over one billion mobile handsets worldwide. “As OK Labs deployments surpass the one billion mark, we continue to invest in new technology and to launch new products,” said Steve Subar, CEO, OK Labs.

“In 2010 alone, we released the OK Labs Mass-Market Smartphone Solution, the Nirvana Phone concept (together with Citrix) and, most recently, OK Labs SecureIT Mobile, a solution for secure and certified mobile devices.” OK Labs was spun out of NICTA in 2006 and immediately began shipping its OKL4 software, allowing the development of more reliable, trustworthy and affordable embedded mobile and consumer devices. OKL4 was the result of research work undertaken at NICTA.

“The success of OK Labs shows the power of visionary research combined with smart commercial execution and great people,” said NICTA CEO Dr David Skellern. “I am very proud that NICTA recognised the potential of the original research which led to this fantastic outcome for OK Labs. Congratulations!”

The original research leading to the spin-out of OK Labs and its OKL4 software was undertaken in Sydney by a team from NICTA and the University of New South Wales led by John Lions Chair Prof Gernot Heiser, co-founder of OK Labs.