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MARCH 31st, 2005
Lord Sainsbury, Science and Innovation Minister has announced £20
million of funding for micro and nanotechnology projects. The funding, which comes from the DTI's MNT Capital Facilities Programme,
is planned for use in the building of new advanced manufacturing facilities. The nanotechnology developments from the program
are expected to encompass everything from biomedical and electronic applications to textile and furniture self-cleaning applications.
Several companies involved in the semiconductor market have already
been given awards for eight different projects as part of this funding. These include MicroBridge, a LCD and medical diagnostic
company, which secured £2.5million; SEMEFABMEMS (Semefab Ltd), which secured £3 million for the development of sensors for
applications such as engine management systems, non-contact ear thermometers, and microwave ovens and Bangor UK-LMC (Wales
University), which received £1.8 million. Bangor plans to develop precision laser processing techniques for the production
of products used in electronic devices like cell phones, printers and televisions.
Another £20 million is also planned to for the 3rd call of the Capital
Facilities Programme that opened in February 2005 A total of £90 million was announced for the program in July 2003. The funding
is expected to culminate in a cohesive network of companies, which work with 12 different regional development agencies. The
overall goal is to give the United Kingdom a globally competitive position in the nanotechnology market.
MARCH 30th, 2005
Are Automobiles the Next Venture Capital Craze?
With revenue forecasts of clear blue skies, air pollution free car
companies, such as ZAP (OTCBB:ZAPZ), are sure to capture the imagination of venture capitalists. Those at the Jacob K Javits
Convention Center, this week and next in New York City will be able to preview over 20 of the latest production
and concept vehicles from around the world. At the New York International Automobile Show, Hybrid Technologies Inc.
(OTCBB: HYBT) will be one company that will be on the list of investors looking for the next Henry Ford. The company has on
display its emission free fleet of two and four wheeled vehicles. Attendance level of the auto show has been estimated to
be over one million.
MARCH 29th, 2005
SiliconStor, Inc., founded in 2002, and in production of its SATA
enterprise storage chip in March of 2004, has secured a $9 million Series B investment round. The round was led by VSP Capital
and APV Technology Partners John Hamm, General Partner at VSP Capital elaborated on the investment decision, "SiliconStor
is a unique early stage company in that it is shipping product commercially, has strong customer design win traction in a
significant market space, and is poised for immediate revenue growth. Enterprise IT organizations are clearly emphasizing
lower cost storage solutions for information life-cycle management (ILM), infrastructure ROI, and regulatory compliance initiatives.
SiliconStor's technology and product timing are perfectly aligned to enable rapid customer adoption of SATA disk drives for
online and nearline storage arrays, a market that is expected to grow dramatically over the next few years."
MARCH 30th, 2005
The Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority (BFTDA) , a Pennsylvania
state-funded network approved $200,000 in funding for The Pittsburgh Technology Council to establish the Pennsylvania NanoMaterials
Commercialization Center. The center is focused on polymer system enhancements, coatings, sensors and film applications. Companies
such as PPG, Bayer MaterialScience, U.S. Steel Corporation, and Alcoa, Inc. are to collaborate at the center with members
of the Pennsylvania Initiative for Nanotechnology.
MARCH 30th, 2005
Renewable Hawaii, Inc. wants to invest more in Hawaii's renewable
energy capacity. Sources it is considering an investment in include sun, wind, hydro, biomass, wave or geothermal energy.
Renewable Hawaii indicates that 33 acres at Maui Electric Company's Waena Generating Station can now be used for such a project.
Renewable Hawaii finances renewable energy projects and takes equity positions in the associated companies.
MARCH 28th, 2005
Axion Power International, which has developed prototypes of a new
hybrid battery for UPS (uninterruptible power supply) systems, has obtained proceeds of $2.8 million in cash and $1 million
in debt settlements from the sale of its 8 % Convertible Senior Preferred Stock and common stock purchase warrants.
Charles Mazzacato, the company's chief executive officer said, "Since inception, we have been engaged in fabricating and testing
a series of evaluation prototypes that range from simple E3 Supercells to complex laboratory prototype power systems constructed
from multiple E3 Supercells. Over the last several months, we have conducted extensive in-house testing of our laboratory
prototype systems in cooperation with our joint development partners. We are very excited about the results.
Axion's supercapacitive hybrid electrical energy storage device
technology, called E3 Supercells, is based on two nanoporous carbon electrodes, which differs from lead-acid batteries, which
are based on two lead electrodes. Besides the fact that such a battery could offer a solution to the environmental problems
lead based products pose, the E3 Supercell technology is expected to result in batteries that will outperform and outlast
lead-acid based batteries. The E3 Supercell is planned to deliver a charge three to five times faster than a lead-acid
battery, have three to four times charge / deep discharge cycles, and maintain its performance level ever after repetitive
90 percent discharge cycles. Additionally, Axion indicates that the carbon electrode based battery will require minimum
maintenance.
The segments of the communications markets that Axion has
planned to address with its E3 products include the UPS and DC power systems. Axion also indicates that the second
target market is the energy storage and buffering systems market for alternative and conventional grid-connected electric
utilities. The third target market is high performance power systems for hybrid automobiles. Axion has also considered other
vehicle markets such as forklifts, wheelchairs and golf carts. The company hasn't indicated if the electric bicycle,
hybrid motorcycle or electric scooter and skateboard were potential markets for the E3 product.
MARCH
24th, 2005
Provigent's
Broadband Wireless Transmission Technology Wins Market Share and Funding
Provigent
Inc., which has won 20 design wins for its PVG310 single chip modem, has just closed its third round of funding. The $10 million
of fresh cash brings Provigent's total funding to date to $21 million.
Key
to Provigent's funding and sales success is the acceptance of the PVG310 in the point-to-point microwave market. Provigent
estimates that its merchant silicon solution has captured about one third of the point-to-point radio systems market. The
PVG310 offers system houses an alternative to expensive in-house developed ASIC alternatives, which can cost upwards of $1
million. Another reason for the PVG’s success is its performance rating. With its XPIC (cross-polarization interface
cancellation) technology, the PVG310 allows for a net payload of up to 311Mbps (2xSTM-1) and 622Mbps (STM-4).
Investors
in the round included Sequoia Capital, Pitango Venture Capital, Magnum Communications Fund, Ascend Technology Ventures, Delta
Ventures, and Andrew Viterbi, Co-Founder of QUALCOMM. All were previous investors in the company.
MARCH 24th, 2005
Straatum Brings Preventive Yield Analysis Tools to Semiconductor Fab and Foundry
Market
Straatum
Processware Ltd., which has recently received funding from Intel Capital, ACT Venture Capital and Vision Capital, has introduced
its Imprint MX2 manufacturing fault detection system. This system, which extracts information in real-time from an array of
radio frequency and optical sensors located in the wafer fabrication line, allows wafer fabrication managers to quickly predict
where and when manufacturing induced product flaws are most likely to occur. The system, complete with a portable fault library,
has been designed to enable companies to alter process technology and locate semiconductor equipment that’s drifting
out of specification, before integrated circuit yield is affected. Such prediction capabilities are enhanced with the MX2’s
data mining features that allow for the quick classification of fault types and quick retrieval and analysis of the endless
flow of real-time data that a wafer fabrication plant generates and needs to collect and store.
MARCH
24th, 2005
Flywheel Based Energy Storage Technology Company Accumulates $10 Million
Flywheel
based energy systems provider Pentadyne Power Corporation has completed a follow-on close to its Series C funding round. The
financing adds $10 million more to the $8 million it already raised from its initial Series C round The follow-on round was
led by Rustic Canyon Partners.
Pentadyne
plans to use the funds to further its product commercialization efforts through Emerson Network Power/Liebert, a market leader
in the area of uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). One of Emerson Network Power's latest products is the Liebert FS Advanced
Flywheel Energy Storage System, which is used as a replacement for lead acid batteries in Liebert UPS products.
Flywheel
technology has gained market recognition for several reasons. These include the capability of flywheels to provide transparent
power system transition from the utility grid to a generator during a power black-out, the ability to provide better quality
power from utility grids (protection from short lived power drop outs and transients) and as a safer power backup system than
lead-acid batteries, especially in chemically intensive, fire prone industrial environments.
MARCH 23rd, 2005
Reports from ELMOS Semiconductor AG, based in Germany, indicate
that the company has received approval for subsidies from the state of North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) . The grant was estimated
at two million Euro for investments of 60 million Euro related to the expansion of its production site at Dortmund. The
company plans to add 125 jobs there by 2007.
According to Dr. Klaus Weyer, CEO of ELMOS Semiconductor AG, "Since
the foundation the support of the state of NRW has significantly impacted the development and success of ELMOS. In the past
20 years we have created more than 600 jobs alone at the Dortmund location. In the coming years we are looking for further
growth and will thereby create new jobs."
ELMOS Semiconductor AG obtains approximately 90 percent of its revenue
from ASICs for automotive electronic applications. The company is listed on the TecDAX 30 of the German Stock Exchange.
MARCH 23rd, 2005
Intel Makes Investment in E Ink's Power Free Display Technology
E Ink Corporation, one of the front runners in the paper-like display
market, reported that Intel Capital has made an investment in the company. Ken Titlebaum, Vice President of Finance at E Ink
stated, "We are pleased to receive Intel Capital's investment and will be using this funding to help improve the next generation
of our paper-like display technology through increased R&D. " Further elaborating, Russ Wilcox, President and CEO of E
Ink explained, "Intel Capital has a global reputation and brings a wealth of resources beyond simple cash."
A feature, but not the most important feature, that E Ink brings
to the display world is a display that looks more like the page of a book than a computer display. However, the real power
of E Ink's display technology is that no power is required to maintain an image on the display. This results in a 90 percent
power reduction over traditional displays - as well as greatly extends battery life. Planned and existing versions of the
display are flexible, as well as rugged, and can be wrapped around cylinders - as sign based advertisements - which can be
changed via wireless remote connections.
Partners of and investors in E Ink include TOPPAN Printing Company,
Royal Philips Electronics, The Hearst Corporation, Intel Capital, CNI Ventures, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., Vossloh
Information Technologies, and Motorola, Inc.
MARCH 23rd, 2005
TelASIC Communications, a producer of analog and mixed signal chips
for the 3G market reported that its has raised $26 million in a Series D round. This is in addition to $35 million it secured
in Series C funding in October of 2003 and the initial $22.5 million it obtained in its first funding round. In the Series
D round, Mission Ventures, The IPO Group, Agilent Technologies and Redpoint Ventures, all existing investors, made contributions.
Investors in the Series C round included Raytheon Company. IBM made an investment in the initial Series A round.
TelASIC was originally spun out from Raytheon in 2001 and since
that time has focused on analog to digital and digital to analog converters.
MARCH 23rd, 2005
NanoOpto Corporation, a company that has developed the nano-pattern
transfer technique to fabricate optical nano-structures on wafer substrates, has closed its third round of financing, valued
at $12 million. To date NanoOpto has raised $42.3 million in funding. The last round, Round C, was led by First Analysis,
and was joined by other existing investors, which included Morgenthaler Ventures, the Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ); well
known micromachine and nanotechnology investment company, Harris & Harris Group; and U.S. Trust's Excelsior Venture Partners
III, L.L.C.
NanoOpto, which already has its nanooptical system building blocks
in volume production, fabricates its optical chips on optical wafers. The fabrication technique is reported to allow the same
benefits of standard integrated circuit wafer fabrication: low cost, high yield and high volume production capacity. NanoOpto's
first three products included the NanoOpto SubWave Polarizer, NanoOpto SubWave Polarization Beam Splitter/Combiner (PBS/C),
and NanoOpto SubWave Waveplates. In 2005 NanoOpto has announced a number of new products. These so far have included IR cut-off
filters for the digital imaging market, waveplates for the optical data storage market, and optical isolators, which are used
as communications transceivers. NanoOpto's products have been designed to operate in systems based on UV (Ultraviolet), visible,
and IR (Infrared) wavelengths.
According to Barry Weinbaum, President and CEO of NanoOpto Corporation,
"NanoOpto is now in volume production, shipping its unique optical devices to a broad range of markets, including optical
disk drives, digital imaging, projection displays, and communications." Greg Blonder, General Partner at Morgenthaler Ventures,
one of the investors in the company substantiated NanoOptic's as a real company with a real product. He commented, "Over the
past four years, NanoOpto has evolved from a nascent technology platform to shipping real products to customers in real markets."
MARCH 23rd, 2005
Phoseon Technology, Inc., a company founded by executives from the
semiconductor industry, has landed $6.4 million in a Series B funding round for a new light source technology, which is expected
to simplify and improve the semiconductor wafer fabrication process. The company indicates that mercury arc lamps and lasers,
in use for over 40 years in the semiconductor industry, will no longer be necessary because of its technology. To replace
mercury lamps and lasers, the company has developed a solid-state technology, which generates very high intensity ultraviolet
or infrared light emitting arrays to be projected "uniformly" over a large area. So far the company has been able to
successfully penetrate key accounts in not only the semiconductor inspection and lithography industry, but also in the CDs/DVDs
and industrial printing industries. The technology, in addition
to lithography applications, can be applied to the drying of inks, adhesives and coatings. According to Kevin Gabelein, Managing
Director with Fluke, "Phoseon's technology is unique in this space and has horizontal applicability across a variety of industrial
markets. Phoseon's ability to land key beachhead accounts with leaders in each sector made us believe in their significant
growth potential."
Investors in the round included Fluke Venture Partners, SmartForest
Ventures, PacRim Ventures, Capybara Ventures, Moritex, and investors from Phoseon's end markets.
MARCH 22nd, 2005
Agilent Ventures is a natural place to look for companies that want
funding for semiconductor test technology. And that's exactly where Pintail found part of the $7 million it secured in its
Series B venture capital round. Agilent Ventures, a business unit of Agilent Technologies, Inc. - a company with major operations
in semiconductor test equipment and electronic test instrumentation, participated in the round along with Austin Ventures,
Duchossois Technology Partners, IVF Ventures and STARTech Early Ventures.
Pintail was well received partly because of its performance in the
start-up phase and its list of world leading semiconductor customers. Phil Kirk of Duchossois Technology Partner noted, "Pintail
is distinguished by the companies it has engaged with during its development phase. Companies like Texas Instruments, Qualcomm,
STMicroelectronics and STATSChipPAC represent some of the most demanding semiconductor leaders in the world. The conflicting
needs for higher levels of quality in markets like automotive combined with lowering cost of test in all consumer products
are major challenges to the semiconductor industry. Pintail has developed innovative solutions to these challenges."
Pintail apparently has been able to win over customers because it
is able to save its clients significant amounts of money. Semiconductor test, because of the increased density and functionality
of integrated circuits has steadily risen over the years, and is something most CFOs at semiconductor companies would like
see substantially reduced. Pintail with its test operations software is able to reduce the amount of time it takes to test
a chip - in the order of 30 percent. This translates into over 30 percent per more chips per day through the factory - which
in some cases allows millions more chips per day to make it to the awaiting Fed Ex jet.
Pintail's software, because it is platform independent, and offers
real time data acquisition, and uses existing test equipment with only minor edits in test programs, allows these companies
to reduce test costs quickly without a significant capital investment - all of which pleases the company accountant. Taylor Scanlon, Pintail's president and CEO brought home the point, "Investment
in semiconductor test has taken a back seat to improving fab efficiency, especially in recent years. We are very pleased to
be backed by these world-class investors in our quest to bring true innovation to test. Our value proposition is obvious when
we hear that our customers are receiving significant benefits in every key area of concern in the test environment."
MARCH 17th, 2005
More Funding for Starfire
Lightweight
Technology offers Fuel Savings and Micromachine Applications
Starfire Systems, Inc.,
through an option exercised by Harris & Harris Group, has secured another $500,000 in funding. So far to date, Harris
& Harris, a well-known investor in micromachine technology, has invested $750,000 in the company. Starfire Systems offers
silicon carbide (SiC) forming polymers for the manufacturer of advanced ceramic materials. These materials have applications
in automotive, transportation and microelectronics. Starfire demonstrated last year that its technology can improve the fuel
economy of an SUV significantly. An SUV equipped with brakes based on its ceramic material, had a fuel economy rating that
was rated at 8 percent per axel. The improved fuel economy was attributed to the lower weight of the brake rotors –
which only weigh 25 percent of traditional rotors. Micromachines are another
area that is expected to benefit from Starfire’s technology. The silicon carbide material, because of its anti-wear
resistance, high temperature capability and sturdiness, may allow a new breed of high powered microengines and micro steam
engines to be built. These engines are used to power toy planes and cars.
MARCH 16th, 2005
Knowlent Announces IP Interface Verification Design Tools - Completes Funding Round
Knowlent Corporation, a
relative newcomer to the EDA design tools market, has reported that its new high speed interface has seen rapid adoption.
With that news, the company has introduced Opal, an electrical verification platform for high-speed interface verification.
Specifically, the company announced Opal PCI Express EVP and Opal Serial ATA EVP. The company intends to release more design
tools for the verification of other standard bus interfaces.
The tool, which has been
designed for IP core applications, has won support from leading IP vendor, ARM. Callan Carpenter, ARM's Vice President and
General Manager of PHY Solutions stated, "The OPAL PCI Express EVP helped us save valuable time during the design of our 3G
PHY, and introduced a measure of independence between the design and verification process -- an important characteristic of
any good verification strategy. We anticipate working closely with Knowlent as they develop EVPs to support additional interface
standards." Others in the industry indicated that high speed interfaces, which see data rates above and beyond a GHz, are
a major design issue that needs to be more adequately addressed with specific design tools.
Knowlent also disclosed
that it completed its first round funding. The company however didn't release numbers. Investors included Denali Software
and AsiaTech Ventures.
MARCH 16th, 2005
Nanotechnology Battery Company Secures $14.2 Million
Ener1, Inc. (OTC:ENEI)
(BULLETIN BOARD: ENEI), a company that has developed nanomaterial based batteries for the hybrid electric automotive market,
has secured $14,225,000 as a result of agreements for the private placement of convertible debentures and warrants. Satellite
Strategic Finance Associates LLC and Satellite Strategic Finance Partners Ltd. were among the investors.
Ener1, Inc. addresses the
clean, efficient energy source market. The company has three subsidiaries. These include its joint venture with Delphi Corp.,
EnerDel, Incorporated, which focuses on lithium batteries and battery packs; EnerFuel Inc. a company focused on fuel cell
components and testing services; and NanoEner, Inc., which is focused on nanomaterials and nanotechnology process based developments.
MARCH 16th, 2005
PamChip Array Company Receives Euro 2 Million Funding
PamGene, a company that
offers the PamChip array, has been granted Euro 2 Million from a Netherlands based government agency, SenterNovem. The funding
is for the development of bioinformatics and systems biology on PamGene's PamChip array platform. The research will be conducted
alongside staff from the University of Rotterdam, the Wilhelmina Kinderziekenhuis and the VTT Technical Research Centre, Turku,
Finland. The research hopes to further the role of biological pathways and origins of diseases.
Along with that announcement,
PamGene also indicated that it will be involved as a consortium member under a project under the European Union 6th Framework
Programme. The project involves the investigation of mitochondrial diseases. PamGene also says it is involved with the third
consortium, which involves proteomics research with the Netherlands Proteomics Centre.
MARCH 15th, 2005
ParkerVision Obtains Proceeds of $21.6 Million – Names IBM as SiGe Foundry
ParkerVision, Inc. (NASDAQ
NMS: PRKR), which has developed an alternative to the analog RF power amplifier chip, that is a digital RF power amplifier
chip, has reported that it has completed a private placement of its common stock. Gross
proceeds of the placement were $21.6 million. The placement included 2.88 million shares of common stock and warrants to purchase
an additional 720,000 shares. The common stock was priced at $7.50 per share.
The company also announced
that it has selected IBM Microelectronics to manufacture its ultra-efficient, low-cost digital RF power amplifiers. IBM will manufacture those chips, among others, with its 180 nanometer SiGe CMOS semiconductor process. Dr. Teddy O'Connell, Manager Worldwide Business Development at IBM Systems and Technology
Group indicated that IBM’s SiGe technology was selected because of its costs and integration benefits.
MARCH 15th, 2005
China Resources Logic Allocates HK$1.5 Billion for its Semiconductor Business
China Resources Logic has
indicated, via the Global News Wire, that it plans to spend HK$1.5 billion on its semiconductor operations between 2005 and
2007. About one-third of that sum will be spent in 2005. The company indicated that its semiconductor business was approximately 48 percent of its total revenue
last year and that the company plans to increase its wafer fabrication capacity from 1.3 million units to 2 million units
in 2007. The company also plans to invest the funds in a number of chip design houses that have operations in consumer integrated
circuit development like MP3 player chips.
China Resources, originally
a furniture company, diversified into the semiconductor market in 2001 and has operations in the chip market through a number
of Chinese based semiconductor companies.
MARCH 15th, 2005
California Clean Energy Fund to Invest $30 Million into Clean Energy
The California Clean Energy
Fund (CalCEF), a public benefit investment fund, has entered into agreements with Nth Power, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and VantagePoint
Venture Partners. Of the $30 million CalCEF has, it has allocated $8.5 million each to these three venture capital funds and
reserved the other $4.5 million for future programs. As part of the agreement, the three funds are to match the funds allocated
by CalCEF.
Nth Power has estimated
that venture capitalists invested $500 million into United States
based energy technology companies in 2005 – or 2 percent of total venture capitalists investments.
MARCH 14th, 2005
Investment Arm of
World Bank Earmarks Fabless Chinese Companies for Financing
AFX News Limited reported
that The International Finance Corp. (IFC) hopes to invest approximately $400 million in 2005 in China,
which is about the same level it invested in 2004. IFC noted that its focus. Among the four sectors named that were of investment
interest to the investment arm of the World Band, were fabless integrated circuit companies.
MARCH 14th, 2005
Wavesat Awarded $0.99 Million Funding From NRC-IRAP
Wavesat Inc., which develops
OFDM modem chips for the WiMAX market, has entered into an agreement with the National Research Council's Industrial Research
Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) whereby the company will receive $990,000. As part of the agreement, WiMAX is to develop a WiMAX
chip which meets the IEE 802.16e standard for the development of WiMAX chips.
NRC-IRAP provides repayable
financial assistance to small and medium-sized Canadian companies. The focus of NRC-IRAP is on companies with products at
the pre-commercialization stage. NRC-IRAP operates in cooperation with the Technology
Partnerships Canada/Industry Canada.
MARCH 10th, 2005
Celtic House Venture Partners Closes $280 Million
Technology Fund
Celtic House Venture
Partners has closed its $280 million technology fund, called Fund III. The fund has been planned to provide venture capital
for semiconductor, systems, MEMS, optics and software companies. The fund has been further narrowed to primarily focus on
companies based in Canada
and the United Kingdom. The fund plans
to make individual investments that are in the order of $2 million to $5 million per financing round. Capital from The Fund
III will be allocated over the next three years.
MARCH 10, 2005
Mathsoft, Developer of Engineering Productivity Software Secures $3.0 Million
Mathsoft, whose customers
include Bechtel, Intel, Lockheed Martin, NASA and Siemens has landed an additional $3 million investment from Edison Venture
fund, bringing Edison’s
total investment into the company to $6.5 Million.
Mathsoft offers the
Calculation Management Suite. The software package is intended to let engineers manage and document product development work
in progress. The tool assists engineers in the process of design reuse, such as IP core reuse for integrated circuit design,
auditing, oversight, publishing and collaboration. As well, the software can impose regulations to ensure the product development
procedure is done in compliance to set company, government and legal standards. Mathsoft indicates that the end result is
faster product development time.
Mathsoft software is
used by over ninety percent of the Fortune 1000 companies, 500 government agencies and 2,000 colleges and universities.
MARCH 9th, 2005
Nanotechnology Funding is Where the Semiconductor Funding Is?
For months now, semiconductor
venture capital funding has been difficult to come by. Months were funding levels reached the $200 million mark are no longer
the norm but the exception. Part of the reason may be that venture capitalists have become more enamored with the prospects
of nanotechnology and renewable energy companies. Although nanotechnology funding sometimes addresses different areas than
electronics, electronic products such as semiconductors and sensors are very often direct beneficiaries of nanotechnology
funding.
Take for example, Nantero.
The company has just recently completed its Series C round, a $15 million round. Nantero Incorporated is using carbon nanotubes
for the development of integrated circuits. The company has a development agreement with digital ASIC company, LSI Logic (NYSE:LSI).
That agreement is to develop a CMOS semiconductor manufacturing process based on carbon nanotubes. Nantero also has development
agreements with other companies that have semiconductor and related sensor technology capabilities. These include BAE Systems
and Brewer Science. BAE Systems, besides electronic systems, produces micromachine based sensors for vehicle navigation systems.
Brewer Science Inc. has an agreement with Nantero to commercialize CMOS grade carbon nanotubes, which are to be used by Brewer's
semiconductor fabrication customers. Investors in the Series Round included Globespan Capital Partners, which led the round,
as well as Charles River Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Stata Venture Partners, and Harris & Harris Group (NASDAQ:TINY).
Another nanotechnology
company with operations in electronics, as well as biopharma and materials that closed financing this week included Advance
Nanotech, Inc. (OTCBB:AVNA). The company obtained $3.5 million from the financing of its common stock. The company plans to
utilize the capital to increase the level of its technology related acquisitions, with an initial focus in Singapore
and Thailand. The company will evaluate
the acquisitions candidates to see how well they complement the operations of its eighteen nanotechnology subsidiaries.
The clothes and fashion
market is another area that nanotechnology has made a mark on. Textile companies have adopted nanotechnology because of its
capability to make clothes more durable, wear longer, offer more comfort and obtain more resistance to stubborn stains. Nanotechnology
is also expected to eventually turn fabric into energy storage units to power everything from cellular phones to night vision
glasses.
Nano-Tex is one small
company that joins a number of multinationals in the nanotextile market. Investors this week were so pleased with that company’s
performance that they placed down $35 million in a Series A round. Some of the reasons new and existing investors were so
eager to invest is that the company has already licensed 80 textile mills worldwide to use its product treatments. Nano-Tex's
technology has been incorporated into over 100 apparel and interior furnishing brands. These brand names include a number
of well-known garment companies like Champion, Gap, Lee, Levi, Nike, and Simmons. The company has made an effort to expand
into the interior design textile market, where its products can be applied to drapes, upholstery and the like. Nanotechnology
offers consumer, for example, drapes that are more resistant to fading from direct sunlight and potentially shoes with soles
that are more resistant to wear.
Finally on this week’s
nanotechnology investment list is Spire Corporation (NASDAQ: SPIR). This company received a SBIR Phase I grant for $157,277
from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), National Institutes of Health (NIH), to further develop
a technology that will enhance the capability of dental implants to attach to the jaw (bone fixation). Spire's technology
is based on a functional grade calcium phosphate coating and is planned to improve current technology because it will increase
the rate of bone growth. According to Spire the dental implants are a $1 billion per year market.
Besides the above companies,
Nanomix and Raymor Industries also received funding. Additionally the United
Kingdom announced government funding for nanotechnology products and Lucent Bell Labs announced
the opening an Irish nanotechnology facility that will receive substantial funding.
MARCH 8th, 2005
United Kingdom
Opens Purse For Technology - 10 Billion Pounds
In an apparent realization that technology is a key component
of the infrastructure of today's modern societies, the United Kingdom
allocated £1 billion British pounds for biotechnology funding. This funding, which is part of a £10 billion fund for the broad
based development of the United Kingdom’s
science and technology is planned to be awarded within the next three years.
The funding budget, which has been approved
in part to bring the U.K. technology developments to the same level as
in the United States, includes over £1.5
billion for the Medical Research Council. The council will receive at least £440 million for clinical research of a variety
of diseases such as cancer, stroke and diabetes. The funding also includes £300 million to establish more direct links between
universities and businesses in order to form technological enterprises. Over £200 million is for Department of Trade Industry
investments in nanotechnology. For energy research related to the development of the U.K. as the leader in climate change science, £150 million has been allocated.
Over £60 million has been budgeted to attract engineering talent from around the world and £30 million to improve technology
skills, which includes funding for the Royal Academy of Engineering to “recruit the best engineers to the UK.”
Finally, as part of the plan, the British
will invest £500 million a year, over the three years, for a total of £1.5 billion to construct and equip new laboratories.
At
the same time, the United Kingdom suggests that it also wants to ensure
that the best U.K. research and inventions are developed in Britain by British businesses - however, as implied, not necessarily by the United Kingdom’s citizens. That philosophy has the potential to result in
an all out global bidding war for technology professionals with the highest levels of education. The United States government, encouraged by industry leaders, has for a number of years
followed a similar policy.
The United Kingdom, the Department of Trade and Industry points
out, has only 1 percent of the world's population, but produces 12 percent of all the scientific citations. No mention was
made to the number of patents the country produces. Reports have indicated that China
may soon win the title of world patent leader.
MARCH 8th, 2005
Nanoelectronic Device Company,
Nanomix, Closes $16 Million Oversubscribed RoundNanomix Inc., a company that has operations
in the nanoelectronic detection device market, has closed a $16 million funding round. Investors included well-known nanotechnology
and micromachine investment company, Harris & Harris Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:TINY). Other investors included Alta Partners,
Apax Partners, EnerTech Capital Partners, Sevin Rosen Funds and STAR Ventures.
Nanomix's technology, which is based
on ultra-sensitive carbon nanotube networks, is named Sensation detection technology. The company plans to market these sensors
for a number of different applications in the environmental monitoring, respiratory diagnostics and biomolecular detection
industries. Nanomix intends to market the sensors this year. The company indicates that the sensor technology will be able
to provide diagnostic information that previously technology has not been able to ergonomically determine.
MARCH 7, 2005
Raymor Industries' Private Placement Wins $2.2
Million Coat for Nanomaterials
Raymor Industries Inc.
(TSX VENTURE:RAR), as a result of a non-brokered private placement of 11,659,737 units at $ 0.19 each has secured $2,215,350
in funding. The units consisted of one common share and one warrant.
Proceeds from the placement
are planned for the production and development of advanced metal and nanomaterial technologies. RAYMOR has four operational
divisions, which include a metal and ceramic coatings division, a spherical metallic powders division that focuses on biomedical
applications, a nanotechnologies division which develops nanopowders, nanocoatings and carbon nanotubes and a net shape forming
division.
MARCH 3, 2005
El Dorado Closes $200 Million Seventh Venture Capital Fund, Likely Targets Include Chip Companies
El Dorado Ventures announced the close of its El Dorado Ventures VII fund, a $200 million venture capital fund. The
capital is expected to be redistributed to about 20 new ventures over the next three years. El Dorado has traditionally focused on early stage investments in the semiconductor, system,
communication, and software and service space. Overall, El Dorado manages more than $700 million in capital.
The General Partners, who will be involved in investment decisions for the VII fund include Shanda Bahles, Charles
Beeler, Tom Peterson and Scott Irwin.
MARCH 3, 2005
Fabless Biometric Company, Veridicom, Receives First Installment of $5.1 Million in Funding
Veridicom International, (OTC Bulletin Board: VRDI), a producer of biometric identification and security technology,
announced that it has received one of three equal payments as a result of a private placement valued at $5.1 million. The funding payments are paid to Veridicom after
it meets specific milestones. The first milestone has been completed.
Veridicom offers a multi-factor authentication key called the VKI. The VKI is based on the company’s internally
developed FPS200 silicon capacitive fingerprint sensor. The VKI is used for computer and computer network security applications
MARCH 2, 2005
Plastic Power Receives $500,000 Grant from NSF for Sunlight Harvesting
Konarka
Technologies, Inc. announced that it has been awarded a grant valued at $500,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Konarka develops light activated power plastic technology, which promises to enable a wide range of everyday objects to harvest
energy from both sunlight and artificial light. T. James Rudd, program manager, NSF SBIR/Small Business Technology Transfer
(STTR) program indicated that the Konarka's technology offers a potential low-cost roll-to-roll manufacturing technique and
improvements in efficiency. As part of the Phase II research project, Konarka’s hopes to improve the efficiency of its
dye-sensitized solar cell technology to 10 percent or higher.
MARCH 1st, 2005
Optical Gas Sensor Spin-Off from JPL Closes $6 Million
The NASA/Caltech Jet
Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is one source of technology licenses for companies and has been a source for new technology companies
with innovative technologies. This time SpectraSensors, Inc., one of JPL’s
technology spin-off, is now in the spotlight. SpectraSensors, which is a supplier of optical sensors for industrial and environmental
gas sensing applications, reported that it has closed $6 million in funding in a Series B round. American River Ventures led
the round. Other investors included Nth Power and Blueprint Ventures Members of these two organizations will join the board
of SpectraSensors.
The company’s
optical gas based sensor is used to measure carbon dioxide and other impurities in natural gas lines. As well, the sensors
can also be used to determine impurities in drinking water, such as arsenic. No mention was made if the sensor can detect
rocket fuel. The hazard that rocket fuel in the water supply poses has been a source of considerable debate in the United
States recently.
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