Dave Ditzel will step down to become vice chairman and chief technology officer. Both Allen and Ditzel will serve on the board. Allen has held positions at Nvidia, C-Cube Microsystems and Cypress Semiconductor before he became Transmeta's president and chief operating officer in January 2000. Transmeta had its IPO in November, the stock more than doubled the first day of trading but has sunk below its IPO price amid market malaise. The news about the change in management came out after trading hours, so it did not effect Thursday's market.
Analysts generally hold polarized opinions about the company's future.
Some believe the company will carve out a profitable niche in the notebook market. Others say it will be marginalized by Intel. For example, Red Hat chairman Robert Young and founder Marc Ewing gave up the titles of CEO and CTO, respectively. Ditzel is mostly known for his technical abilities. The battle on the game is market is just about to become truly ferocious.