SAN DIEGO, Calif., March 4 -- OMM Inc., a supplier of MEMS-based optical switch array modules, announced today it will cease operations effective March 7. The company said it will release all of its 85 employees as of that date and will assign all assets to its creditors. "OMM has been highly successful in the design and manufacture of the world's first commercial MEMS-based optical matrix switches," said Phil Chapman, president and CEO of OMM. "The company shipped products to more than 60 telecommunications equipment manufacturers and achieved numerous customer design wins. However, with the severe downturn in the worldwide telecom industry, the market timing for volume deployment of our products has been significantly impacted." The company had been seeking additional private funding to continue its operations, he said. OMM, originally called Optical Micro-Machines, was started in San Diego in 1997 and was funded by a combination of venture capital and strategic customer investments. Venture investors included Sevin Rosen Funds, Atlas Venture, Bessemer Venture Partners, Rho Capital Partners and Weston Presidio. Strategic investors included Nortel Networks, Siemens, Alcatel, Sycamore Networks, Solectron, Fairchild Semiconductor and Corvis Corporation. For more information, visit: www.omminc.com