In that market ATM lost out to the rival technology known as Ethernet, but Floyd salvaged Efficient by using ATM to carry DSL signals to a telephone company's central office.

FORBES: Above the fray

Floyd founded Efficient in 1993 with the idea of using asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), an industrial-strength packet technology, to route data around local area networks.

FORBES: Above the fray

Mr James said the technology was also being tipped to be used at ATM machines and schools.

BBC: Biometric thumbprint

Phone company engineers liked ATM, and Floyd figured that by developing ATM-based devices, Efficient would gain an edge over companies with cheaper or more exotic technology.

FORBES: Above the fray

"The faculty don't necessarily understand how venture capital works, and the venture capitalists say, 'We're not ATM machines, '" says Holly, 43, an MIT-trained engineer who helped build two technology companies in the 1990s before returning to academia as a champion of commercialization.

FORBES: Champions of Free Enterprise