You've got it. The $200k level gives you a 2D graphics card from 1998. It looks like their original target market was people who want an embedded emulation of this sort of ancient system so they can run DOS, Windows 95, or ancient Linux/X11 on it. Markets in which changing the software is horribly expensive due to compliance costs.
(I'm impressed that article is still up from 2000!)
$1m is not totally unreasonable for the shader-based design at commercial rates. Last time I did a back-of-the-envelope calculation for a shader-capable fully open graphics card delivering working silicon, I came up with two years, $2.5m, and a hiring shortlist.
The $400k goal targets Direct3D 8. That appears to date to about 2000: http://www.gamedev.net/page/resources/_/technical/directx-an...
(I'm impressed that article is still up from 2000!)
$1m is not totally unreasonable for the shader-based design at commercial rates. Last time I did a back-of-the-envelope calculation for a shader-capable fully open graphics card delivering working silicon, I came up with two years, $2.5m, and a hiring shortlist.