ParaQum Technologies at forefront of electronic industry boost
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Ajith Pasqual
Ajith Pasqual is living up to the name of his electronics start-up, ParaQum Technologies, which is a play on the name of one of the greatest kings in the history of Sri Lanka – Parakramabahu the Great – and parallel quantum computing.
The 12th century king is famous for uttering the words “not even a little water that comes from rain must flow into the ocean without being made useful to man”.
Substitute raw talent for raindrops. ParaQum Technologies was born a couple of years ago with the aim of jump-starting the electronic industry and help stem a brain drain which every year resulted in scores of the best engineers leaving the country for employment overseas. Like those precious raindrops, the talent of this country is now being used here.
“Every year there are around 100 graduates with an electronics degree who come out of the University of Moratuwa. Less than 10 are absorbed into the local industry with the rest being lost to jobs overseas. I was not happy with the rate of the industry expansion and knew if we didn’t get involved ourselves, this brain drain would continue,” explains Pasqual.
So he founded ParaQum Technologies, a start-up which is now on the cusp of big things – creating a global brand by being at the forefront of video compression and networking domains technology.
“A key objective of ours is to make electronics a significant contributor to the national economy and exports. A few years ago there were only six companies involved in the industry, today there are around 18 and growing,” reveals Pasqual, the CEO of the company.
Pasqual, an old Royalist, graduated from Moratuwa University in 1993. A four-year degree in electronics engineering took seven years to complete due to JVP troubles (“I entered in 1986 and only took my first year exams in 1990″). Soon after completing his degree, he joined the university as his heart was set on an academic career.
Key team members
Engineer cum accountant
Although he lost time completing his degree, it wasn’t wasted as he qualified as an accountant. But engineering was his passion and once he embarked on this line, he soon became head of the electronics department at the university. It was during this time that he watched the country lose its best brains due to a lack of employment opportunities.
“When I graduated there were 28 students in my batch. Today there are around 100 graduating every year. I knew we had to create an environment where they would be absorbed into the local industry and show them that there is a career in electronics.”
His ideas were crystalised in early 2014 when the government gave a Rs.160 million grant to establish a facilitation centre at the University of Moratuwa for advanced electronics design so as to support start-ups in electronics. An undergraduate programme undertaken by four of his students – Maleen Abeydeera, Manupa Karunarathne, Kaleena de Silva and Geethan Karunaratne – also provided the spark which led to the creation of ParaQum Technologies.
“I wouldn’t have been able to take the risk if not for the grant from the government. That money allowed the university to buy the software without which we couldn’t start operations. One license (for software) costs US$1 million but we got it at a discounted rate. If the government didn’t step in it would be impossible for the private sector which would have to front up with such large sums,” explains Pasqual.
Dipping heavily into his own savings, Pasqual set up the company. His aim was to provide a healthy environment and a challenge to his staff so his employees also had a stake in the company which was aimed at creating high end hardware products.
Two of them seem to be a winner – a video compression decoder which allows ultra-high definition TV and Deep Packet Impression technology which allows users to analyse their Internet traffic network (see how much of the bandwidth is being used for social purposes like Facebook and how much is for work).
“It has taken around three years for us to develop these products. It takes a long time but we are not on the verge of marketing our products. We have done the hard yards and I think we should really take off next year,” says a hopeful Pasqual.
His wife will be only too pleased for he has had to rely on her savings too in these teething years. But rich dividends are in store for his company which today employs 30 people. Already an American outfit has signed him on and more deals are in the pipeline. Local corporates are also interested.
Parakramabahu of old would have been proud. Every drop of talent in the country – “we have the best brains,” says Pasqual – is now being used instead of being lost like rainwater which seeps into the oceans. Â -(Alvin)Â