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MAY 31st, 2005
In technical circles rumblings about a takeover of the microprocessor
market with a new FPGA computer architecture continue to surface. With the arrival of the FPGA High Performance Computing
Alliance (FHPCA ), launched on May 25 2005 in Scotland, it appears that a chip revolution may have started. The FHPCA which
consists of FPGA design architectural experts from academia to industry plans to build the most power 64 node FPGA based super
computer with processing speeds that top 1 Teraflop.
The £3.6million budget for the two year project came from the alliance
members and the Scottish Enterprise, which alone contributed £1.345 million. Among the members of the organization include
a number of leading FPGA chip, IP, R&D and system development organizations. Notable members included Alpha Data, Edinburgh
Parallel Computing Centre (EPCC), The Institute for System Level Integration (ISLI), Nallatech, and Xilinx.
A number of those involved in the project commented. Jim Wallace,
Enterprise Minister, noted the importance of the technology to Scotland, "If the Executive is to achieve its key aim of continuing
to grow Scotland's economy we need to encourage effective collaboration between industry and academia, to develop new technological
products and to explore new markets. The High Performance Computing Alliance is an excellent example of this type of successful
partnership working - bringing together some of the world's leading computing experts to develop truly groundbreaking technology
which will place Scotland at the forefront of microelectronic innovation and design. The Supercomputer that the Alliance is
creating will have far-reaching benefits in areas such as life sciences, climate change and games technology, and ultimately
generate new knowledge and wealth for Scotland."
On the other hand, Patrick Lysaght, Senior Director Xilinx Research
Labs alluded to the replacement of older computer architectures that are based on the classical microprocessor, "the use of
FPGAs in high performance computing brings superior performance for many important classes of problems. The key to this improvement
is to use arrays of FPGAs instead of older architectures based on sequential computers. The natural concurrency of the algorithms
can be best exploited by mapping them to FPGAs with all the advantages of highly specialized data paths, customized memory
interfaces and optimized interconnection topologies. The tremendous flexibility of Xilinx FPGAs makes it possible to create
a custom computing environment for each class of problem".
Stating the absolute market significance of the new FPGA computer
architecture was Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian, Jim McFarlane, "The development of high performance
computing technology is on the cusp of the most significant advance since large clusters of PC servers replaced giant mainframe
computers. Scotland has a strong presence in the technology underpinning reconfigurable computing and we are determined to
exploit the window of opportunity our expertise offers." He also underlined the critical role the alliance will play in making
Scotland a major global technology force, "We have brought together the best in world to collaborate on this project which
will place us at the forefront of the implementation of a technology whose time has come. It is an exciting programme that
will help transform indigenous Scottish companies into major global players of scale in this field, while creating significant
added value to the economy."
MAY 31st, 2005
InPhase Closes $32.1 Million For 300 Gbyte Disk Drive
Technology
InPhase Technologies, a company that has developed a holographic data storage drive and
associated disk drive media, has closed a $32.1 million Series C round. Investors included Bayer MaterialScience AG, a company
that has a vested interest in the development of polymers for optical data storage, Nanotech Partners Ltd., which is focused
on nanotechnology investments, as well as ALPS Information Technology Fund LP, Hitachi Maxell Ltd., Japan Asia Investment
Co., New Venture Partners LLC and Yasuda Enterprise Development Co.
The funds will be used for the final commercialization stage of
InPhase's holographic data storage drive and media. The company's first product has a capacity of 300 gigabytes and data transfer
rate of 20 megabytes per second.
Nelson Diaz, CEO of InPhase commented about the recent demonstration
of their product and the market interest, ."The recent public demonstration by InPhase of the world's first commercial holographic
drive prototype validated our technical leadership in the holographic data storage market. Now, with the commitment and support
of our investors, we have funds to move from technology leadership to commercial leadership. The tremendous interest in the
InPhase Tapestry product from the professional video community at the recent National Association of Broadcasters convention
was extremely positive and confirmed the insatiable demand for a secure archive solution for digital media assets."
Bayer MaterialScience AG and InPhase as part of a joint development
agreement will further develop the critical storage media. The storage media was developed at Bell Labs, of which InPhase
is a spin off , over a period of seven years. The data, unlike conventional disk drive storage, is stored throughout the volume
of the disk drive media, as opposed to just the surface - giving it the disk drive its ultra high storage capacity. The disk
drive also obtains its high data capacity through the use of advanced lens technology and a spatial light modulator, which
converts digital data streams of ones and zeros to a pattern of light and dark pixels.
The Tapestry disk drive is expected to arrive in the market in 2006.
MAY 27th, 2005
Prelude Trust plc Invests in Fabless SiConnect
Prelude Trust plc, with the announcement of its preliminary results
for its fiscal year ended March 31, 2005 reported that it made an investment of 750,000 pounds in SiConnect, a fabless semiconductor
company. Prelude also noted three exists in which the company realized 30 million pounds. These included Alphamosaic Limited,
DNA Research and FillFactory NV. Both Alphamosaic and FillFactory were fabless companies. Fillfactory was acquired by Cypress
Semiconductor and Alphamosaic was acquired by Broadcom.
MAY 26th, 2005
Infineon Technologies, one of the largest semiconductor companies
in Europe, with funding from Apax Partners, has spun-out its internal EDA division. The division, the Circuit Verification
Environment division, will become One-Spin Solutions GmbH.
The new company, which develops early stage verification solutions
for the design of integrated circuits, will consist of 25 employees. The new company is expected to increase its staff with
the 14 million Euros it has received from Apax Partners.
OneSpin already has a customer base. Customers include Infineon,
which plans to remain a customer and license OneSpin’s product. Other customers listed include Siemens, Bosch, Lucent
Germany and Rolls Royce.
Wolfram Buttner, CTO at OneSpin Solutions, indicated that one of
the goals of the company, besides that implied by its names, was to create error free designs, "Today, designs free
of functional errors are becoming a realistic goal for chip manufacturers. In fact, we're proving that it's both technically
as well as commercially possible to develop a modern microcontroller without functional errors."
MAY 23rd, 2005
VaST Closes $12 Million - Plans R&D and Field Support
VaST Systems Technology Corporation (VaST), an EDA tools company, which provides system design
tools to semiconductor, automotive electronics, and consumer electronics companies, has closed its Series C funding round,
valued at $12 million. Foundation Capital led the round, joined by Mohr Davidow Ventures and Allen & Buckeridge.
Mike Schuh, General Partner at Foundation Capital, who now is also
a member of VaST's board, noted that VaST's design tools reduced the design development time of SoCs about 25 percent., “Foundation
was very pleased to be able to lead this C round for VaST,” remarked Mike Schuh, Foundation Capital general partner.
“Embedded system design automation is critical and is today a dramatically underserved area. With system on a chip (SoC)
functionality rapidly migrating from hardware to embedded software, VaST’s virtual system prototypes in software, which
run nearly as fast as the hardware device and are cycle accurate, are providing a huge competitive advantage for their customers.
With VaST, users are starting software development coincident with the hardware development and cutting nine to twelve months
off their development cycles.”
MAY 19th, 2005
World Gold Council Funds Solaris' Ocular Nanorod Efforts
- Gold Base Noted
Just shortly after Solaris has announced one round of funding, the company has revealed that
the World Gold Council, a organization funded by the world's leading gold mining companies, has also provided funding for
its anisotropic gold nanorod technology. The golden nanorods are planned to improve the quality of all types electronic
displays and to restore vision to those with retinal diseases. Dr. Nabil M. Lawandy, CEO of Solaris Nanosciences mentioned
specifically that the funding would benefit the development effort for the retinal disease known in short as AMD, "We are
excited to be working with the support of the World Gold Council in this application of our nanomaterials for improved LCDs,
The funding will accelerate the commercialization of our nanostructure additives for higher performance displays. This effort
will also directly benefit the development of our gold-based materials for restoring visual acuity in patients suffering from
retinal diseases such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD)." Solaris Nanosciences is developing biologically active nanostructures,
which require gold, that may be able to restore the vision of those with Macular Degeneration and Diabetic Retinopathy. Solaris
reports that over 50 million people are afflicted with these two diseases.
Dr Richard Holliday, Industrial Sector Manager of the World Gold
Council explained the rationale for the investment, "Supporting the development of new technologies based on gold will lead
to important new applications for the metal in industry. Solaris Nanosciences has a powerful nanotechnology platform and an
experienced team to successfully commercialize this technology. This will lead to exciting new applications for gold in electronic
products."
The World Council is actively seeking new ways to promote the use
of gold in order to increase industrial demand, which is currently estimated between 350 to 400 tonnes a year - considered
low when compared to other metals.
MAY 18th, 2005
Chipidea Closes 12 Million Euro with Fabless and IP Core
Business Model
Chipidea, based in Portugal, has secured 12 Million Euro in Series B funding. That company,
which is focused on the wireless, wireline communications, connectivity, multimedia and power management markets, licenses
analog and mixed signal solutions from the block level to the subsystem level. Funding for Chipidea came from Kennet Venture
Partners, Vision Capital, BCP Capital and BPI/Fundo Caravela.
Michael Elias of Kennet Venture Partners, the lead investment company,
commented on the financial operations of the company, "José Franca and his colleagues have built a world class semiconductor
IP business using very little external capital. Kennet specializes in providing expansion financing to capital-efficient business
with global opportunities. We are therefore delighted at the opportunity to invest in Chipidea and help take it to the next
level of development."
Chipidea, founded in 1997, employs over 180 people in several offices
throughout the world. The company states that it has been profitable and has seen double-digit growth every year since its
inception.
MAY 18th, 2005
IPExtreme Lands $6 Million for IP Core Development and
Awareness
Intellectual Property (IP) cores, the building blocks of integrated circuits have become more
popular as integrated circuits have grown larger and more complex. With this has come the need to provide engineers with larger
and more complex IP building blocks and a growing market. As time goes on, some believe that funding for IP Core companies
could rival that fabless companies now see.
Indicative of that scenario is the funding of IPExtreme. That company
has secured $6 million in Series A funding for its IP core efforts. Alloy Ventures and SmartForest Ventures, the two Series
A investors echoed the promise of what some still consider a young industry and young company. Dan Rubin, Partner at Alloy,
commented on the IP industry and IPExtreme, "We feel the semiconductor IP market is still in its infancy and represents a
significant business opportunity beyond traditional IP companies. IPextreme has extensive commercial and technical IP experience,
and we look forward to them changing the industry by getting established semiconductor companies into the IP game through
their innovative business model." Huoy-Ming Yeh at SmartForest noted IPExtreme's established market position, "We find IPextreme
an attractive investment since they have already proven their business model by establishing relationships with leading semiconductor
companies and generating revenue. With their desirable patent-pending IP packaging technology and unique IP skill and experience,
they are well positioned for success."
IPExtreme, which already has offices in Campbell, California and
Munich, Germany plans to use the funds to add to its marketing, engineering and sales power. Besides that, the company plans
to also increase its revenue through the age-old strategy of awareness building.
MAY 18th, 2005
Konarka Raises $7 Million for Solar Plastic Technology
Konarka Technologies, Inc., a company that has developed plastic that can generate energy from
light, has secured $7 million in venture debt financing from Lighthouse Capital Partners. The funds are planned for the further
expansion of its research laboratory and capital equipment expenditures. Ned Hazen, Managing Director at Lighthouse Capital
Partners., the financier, noted the potential for Konarka to become a renewable energy leader, "The quality of Konarka's team
and the compelling value proposition of its innovative power plastic have positioned the Company to become a leader in making
renewable energy mainstream. We have a great deal of confidence in the business Konarka is building and its market potential."
MAY 17th, 2005
NanoOpto Closes Round C - $2.5 Million
NanoOpto Corporation, a company that has found a way to produce low-cost optical components
and chips with a proprietary nano-fabrication technology, has closed a $2.5 million round. Financiers to the oversubscribed
round include Masters Capital Nanotechnology, LLC, and Nanostart AG. The funding for NanoOpto now totals $46 million to date.
MAY !6th, 2005
IDG Ventures Boston Closes $180 Million Fund - For Early
Stage Companies
IDG Ventures Boston, a venture capital firm with its sites on early stage information and healthcare
companies has announced the final close of its second fund. That fund, valued at $180 million, received contributions from
AlpInvest Partners, FLAG Capital Management, GIC Special Investments, Grove Street for Finnish LGPI, HighVista Strategies,
International Data Group, Princeton University Investment Company, and an undisclosed Ivy League university endowment. The
new funds brings IDG's capital under management to $280 million.
High growth companies, the fund invests in, can expect to receive
between $6 million and $10 million.
IDG lists among its portfolio companies is MicroCHIPS, a company that has developed microimplantable
chips for medical applicaitons. IDG has invested in over 150 companies, which include life science companies as well as more
traditional electronic companies.
MAY 16th, 2005
$7 Million For Agile's Power Saving Electronics
Agile Systems Inc., a producer of power electronic modules and integrated circuits, has completed
$7 million in financing. Financiers included Expansion Capital Partners, LLC on behalf of the Clean Technology Fund II, LP,
as well as RBC Capital Partners, Covington Capital, RoyNat Capital Inc. and BEST Total Return Fund. The Technology Lending
business of GE Commercial Finance, as part of the package, will provide revolving/term credit.
Ralph Steedman, CEO of Ajile indicated that the funding would be
used for new high-efficiency product launches, "this funding will underpin our aggressive product development schedule and
help to launch several new high efficiency motor control products over the next 18 months." Agile estimates that electric
motors consume over 50% of the annual generated energy in North America.
Giving specifics about the markets that Agile addresses was Bernardo
Llovera, General Partner of Expansion Capital Partners, "High performance motion control and electronic drives for brushless
DC motors are two of the fastest-growing portions of the overall motor drives and controls market. As manufacturers and assemblers
look to reduce costs while improving performance, they are increasingly turning to smaller, faster, more accurate motion controllers
and electronic motor drives. Agile's superior controller and drives designs make it uniquely positioned to capitalize on this
trend."
Bill Demars, Managing Director, Technology Lending at GE Commercial
Finance, in line with GE's emphasis on clean energy companies, said, "Agile is a good example of the very promising companies
successfully raising capital these days, in part because of the high level of interest within the Clean Energy segment."
Agile Systems, besides its electronic motor control systems, offers
DPC digitalPOWER integrated circuits. This family of chips is based on a number of CMOS and DMOS process cells, which include
analog, mixed signal and digital components such as high side drivers, analog to digital converters (ADC) and pulse width
modulators.
May 13th, 2005
Vonage, a broadband phone service provider, with significant ties
with Texas Instruments, announced the close of a $200 million financing round. The round, which was led by Bain Capital and
joined by New Enterprise Associates, 3i, Meritech Capital Partners and Institutional Venture Partners, brings the total funding
of Vonage to $408 million, a startling number and a number that indicates the importance venture capitalists place on the
VoIP market.
Emphasizing the historical turning point in the telecommunications
industry was Jeffrey A. Citron, Chairman and CEO of Vonage Holdings Corporation, "Vonage is leading the telecommunications
revolution, as its full-featured, cost-effective calling plans are prompting hundreds of thousands of people to drop their
traditional Bell telephone service. This latest round of funding will help Vonage further cement its position as the leading
broadband telephony provider in North America, with further expansion and penetration into global markets."
Michael Krupka, Managing Director of Bain Capital Ventures comments
indicated that he agreed VoIP would soon become the mainstream telephone technology of the new century, "Voice over Internet
Protocol has reached a tipping point, as mainstream consumers begin to adopt broadband telephony as a replacement for their
traditional telephone service. "Vonage has led the movement towards mass adoption of VoIP with its exponential growth and
we look forward to helping Vonage extend its overwhelming lead as the number one player in the industry."
Besides expanding its telecommunications service, Vonage stated
that it would also use the financing for the "development of new innovative offerings." Back in March of this year, it was
reported that Texas Instruments was selected as Vonage's preferred supplier of Voice over IP (VoIP) silicon and software.
Texas Instruments reported at that time that its cumulative total of VoIP shipments had reached over 100 million ports. Vonage
and Texas Instruments have worked together to develop VoIP products for a number of different applications.
Presently, Vonage reports that it has 600,000 lines in service and
has been adding more than 15,000 lines per week to its network. That is up from the 500,000 lines in service reported in March
of 2005.
MAY 13th, 2005
CyOptics, a producer of optical chips and components for broadband
applications, has closed its Series F round of funding, valued at $24 million. The funding capped off an announcement that
CyOptics had completed the acquisition of TriQuint's optoelectronic operations, expected to further expand CyOptics’
operations in the Indium Phosphide (InP) optical chip market. The cost of the acquisition was estimated at $23.5 million.
CyOptics listed its Series F round participants as JVP (Jerusalem
Venture Partners), Sprout Group, TowerBrook Capital Partners and Eurofund.
CyOptics, which has a high-volume nanotechnology robotic manufacturing
process that permits optical engines to be produced that are five times smaller than other competitors, emphasizes the repeatability
and low cost of its final products, which include a complete line of InP chips and laser and detector components. CyOptics
was founded in 1999.
MAY 12th, 2005
SDTC Funds Quantium's Nanomaterial Efforts to Reduce Chemical Industry's Energy
Costs
A Canadian consortium
led by Quantiam Technologies, a nanomaterials company, has announced that the Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC)
has contributed $1.45 million to develop a technology for the more efficient manufacture of olefins. Olefins, used in to produce
plastics, lubricants and antifreeze, require an enormous amount of energy to produce, - in the neighborhood of $10 billion
a year is used to provide the energy required for the hydrocarbon steam cracking process used in olefin manufacture. It was
indicated that the process being developed by Quantium, at a pilot plant that is now being built, could save up to 20 percent
on the energy costs associated with olefins manufacturing. In addition to the $1.45 million in funding, the project has also
been funded through an investment of $8.3 million, which included funds from consortium partner NOVA Chemicals Corporation,
also a producer of olefins.
Vicky J. Sharpe, President
and CEO of SDTC, which is a $550 million clean fund, talked about the organizations role and the importance of the investment
for Canadian companies, "SDTC invested in Quantiam because we
see the potential for the consortium's technology to succeed in a number of ways, in both reducing greenhouse gas emissions
and contributing to the increased productivity and competitiveness of Canadian companies in the energy, materials manufacturing,
and petrochemical sectors. SDTC does more than fund projects. We connect partners at all points of the supply chain and help
entrepreneurs to validate their business plans. This strengthens the value proposition of technologies, making them more attractive
to downstream investors and getting them to market faster. In the case of Quantiam, the participation of its consortia members
indicates that industry players support what we're doing and recognize the opportunities of the clean technologies in development
today."
Two
important Canadian political figures also commented on the technologies importance to Canada and the environment, Senator
Tommy Banks on behalf of the Government of Canada said, "Today's announcement clearly shows that Canadian companies, like
Quantiam and its partners, are leading the world in developing clean energy technologies. We believe that these kinds of technologies
will not only help us address climate change, but also create new economic opportunities in the years to come." The Honorable
Anne McLellan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness also underscored the environmental
and economic importance of the technology, "I'm pleased to congratulate Quantiam on its progress to date on an initiative
that will change how the world produces olefins, one of the most widely used petrochemicals. The potential for this technology,
both environmentally and economically, is tremendous and I'm proud that the Government of Canada, through SDTC, is supporting
the project."
MAY 12th, 2005
Ohio Allocates $34 Million for Nanomaterials Research - To Create 4500 Jobs
The Ohio Department of
Development has made available $34 million in grants to promote Ohio's polymer and advanced materials industries. Two Wright
Centers of Innovation will be formed with the funds, which will develop the technology to add 4,500 jobs to Ohio's existing
140,000 polymer jobs. The funds will also be used to create the Center for Multifunctional Polymer Nanomaterials and Devices
(CMPND) and the Ohio Biopolymers Innovation Center (OBIC).
Sharell Mikesell, Ph.D.,
and the executive director at the Ohio Polymer Strategy Council underscored the importance of the funding, "The announcement
today is an exciting culmination of many months of effort by Ohio's polymer leaders, the Ohio Polymer Strategy Council, key
university leaders and industry collaborators. Today's support from the Third Frontier initiative will significantly strengthen
Ohio's position as the world's premier location for the polymer and advanced material industries." Over $52 million was also
committed to CMPND's project goals from 60 companies. Some of the more well-known companies included The Goodyear Tire &
Rubber Company, Owens Corning, Ashland, Keithley Instruments, Inc., Goodrich and Lockheed Martin.
Owens-Corning's Vice president
of Science and Technology, Frank O'Brien-Bernini, commented about the potential for the blending of nanomaterial with biopolymer
technology, "Together, these initiatives will also enable unique collaborative efforts to explore the integration of nanomaterials
with biopolymers. This brings together Ohio's capabilities in polymers and agriculture in a powerful way."
MAY 12th, 2005
Dragon to Invest Millions in Memory Start Up
Dragon Communication &
Technology Sdn Bhd and O2iC Co. Ltd have announced plans to launch ProSem Technology Sdn Bhd. ProSem will base its chips on
technology developed at O2iC. O2iC has been developing magnetoresisitive memory chip technology, often referred to as MRAMs,
a nonvolatile, high speed memory technology. Specifically, ProSem will base its integrated circuits on McRAM technology, which
integrates non-volatile and volatile memory into the same cell. McRAM based chips are expected to be low-cost, because they
can be built with a standard CMOS semiconductor manufacturing process. Approximately RM 40 million has been allocated to ProSem
over a three-year period, which if all goes to plan, will see ProSem grow to 40 employees. ProSem, incorporated in 2003, is
based in Penang.
MAY 12th, 2005
MCT, an IC Test Company, Receives $2.5 Million
Micro Component Technology,
Inc. (OTCBB:MCTI), a semiconductor test equipment company, announced it has received $2.5 million from Laurus Master Fund
Ltd. The financing was secured with a long-term convertible note. MCT's Chief Executive Officer, Roger E. Gower, indicated
that the financing will be used to win over new customers, "This additional financing with Laurus, together with our recent
actions to eliminate approximately $1.5 million of annual expense, affords us the needed liquidity to meet our financial needs
in these difficult markets, and to pursue recent customer opportunities associated with our Strip Solution product family."
MAY 11th, 2005
MathStar, which has signaled plans for an initial public offering,
has just closed another round of funding. This round brought in $9.6 million, bringing total funding to $52.3 million.
The proceeds are expected to be used to market and sell MathStar's Field Programmable Object Array (FPOA). The FPOA's designed
in a 0.13 micron process, are used in network and digital signal processing applications, and intended as an alternative solution
to ASICs and FPGAs. The FPOAs offer a lower cost alternative to FPGAs, but offer performance levels near that of standard
cell ASICs, but without the inherent risk, high cost and lengthy design cycle time - effectively giving designers the best
of the FPGA and ASIC worlds. Douglas M. Pihl, MathStar's founder and CEO commented on the market potential of the new custom
chip architecture "I am absolutely convinced that MathStar's FPOAs will change the semiconductor industry for the better."
MathStar, Inc. in a separate release said it plans to raise approximately
$28 million through an initial public offering.
MAY 11th, 2005
Cypress to Invest $4 Million in Simtek for Nonvolatile
Memory Development
In a move that lends curiosity to the halting of its MRAM memory chip development effort, Cypress
Semiconductor Corp.(NYSE: CY) has announced an agreement with Simtek Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: SRAM) to jointly develop
a nonvolatile memory process, specifically a 0.13 micron Silicon-Oxide-Nitride-Oxide-Silicon (SONOS) process. As part of the
agreement Cypress will invest $4.0 million in 6,740,816 shares of Simtek common stock. Simtek will work with Cypress to integrate
the SONOS process with Cypress' CMOS process at Cypress' Minnesota wafer fabrication facility. Cypress plans to use the nonvolatile
process in its PSoC programmable mixed signal arrays and a number of other devices. Simtek will use the developed manufacturing
technology to create a family of 4 MBit nonvolatile SRAM chips.
T.J. Rodgers, CEO at Cypress indicated that the agreement will lower
development costs, "We are highly motivated to add SONOS to our 0.13-micron line. Over several years of development at Cypress,
the SONOS process has proven to be robust, manufacturable and cost-effective. This new relationship with Simtek enables both
companies to share experience, intellectual property and development costs to bring a wide range of products to market more
quickly while improving production efficiencies."
Simtek's President, Douglas Mitchell, believes the agreement should
result in a broader and faster growing market. "Simtek is very excited to engage with a company of Cypress's stature and capabilities.
We have excellent engineering and production relationships with our other manufacturing partners, including, Chartered Semiconductor
and DongbuAnam Semiconductor. This new relationship with Cypress achieves the 'next-step' in Simtek's ability to deliver a
wide range of high performance products to the marketplace. With Cypress's support and endorsement of SONOS technology, we
believe that the broad market will grow larger and more rapidly."
MAY 10th, 2005
Fulcrum Brings in $20 Million of Venture Capital
for Clockless Technology Fulcrum Microsystems, a fabless low-latency interconnect chip company, has raised $20 million
in a Series C funding round. Granite Ventures led the financing round which was joined by existing investors Infinity Capital,
New Enterprise Associates, Palomar Ventures and Worldview Technology Partners.
Sam Kingsland, Managing Director of
Granite Ventures commented on the market for Fulcrum's clockless technology, "The Fulcrum team has proven their ability to
deliver commercial devices that are differentiated by the virtues of their unique clockless technology. We're looking forward
to working with the company as it leverages its technology to capitalize on exciting new opportunities in the data center."
Fulcrum's technology, a clockless technology, eliminates the system clock from a design. The company indicates that
such a design methodology results in lower power consumption, reduced design time, and lower costs via the capability to more
easily include more logic functions in a chip.
MAY 6 2005
Quantum and Nanotechnology Funding Reaches $50 Million at University of Waterloo
Quantum computing, the use of atoms as the fundamental building block of computational
devices, is considered a cornerstone of this century’s new age technologies. In twenty years, this technology could
well advance such that knowledge of it will be a prerequisite for employment as an engineer. Bringing quantum computing one
step closer to the future is a $17.2 million donation to the University of Waterloo to further develop its Quantum Computing
and Nanotechnology Engineering program. The donation from Ophelia and Mike Lazarid adds to their donation last year of $33.3
million. The donation has been divided between a new shared housing facility and endowments to attract foreign graduate students.
MAY 5th, 2005
CebaTech Inc., a company with Intellectual Property(IP) cores
and EDA tools to facilitate the implementation of communication protocols into integrated circuit designs, has closed a $4.5
million Series B funding round. The company, which is based in New Jersey, was funded through NJTC Venture Fund, SAS Investors
and 2M Technology Ventures.
Robert Chefitz, partner at SAS Investors, praised the founder's
background, Tim Sulivan and his team, "Tim was an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at SAS Investors in 2003. His credibility was
well complemented by a top notch team that had more than a dozen IC design wins in the last decade, and the industry pain-point
related to simulating and testing communication protocols with existing EDA tools is a well recognized one. These factors
led us to close the Series-A investment in less than 75 days when Tim had pitched the Series-A investment opportunity to SAS
Investors a year ago. Since then CebaTech team has surpassed all our expectations."
Robert Chefitz, partner at NJTC Venture Fund, and now a board member
of CebaTech, elaborated on the company's product and space, " In addition to revolutionizing the way communication chips are
designed, the team is targeting to realize paradigm-shifting protocol-based communication products in the IPSec/iSCSI/Packet-Filtering
space."
MAY 5th, 2005
Solaris Nanosciences Corporation, a company that plans to improve
solar cell technology efficiency with its nanomaterial technology, announced today that it has closed on an investment made
by the Slater Technology Fund. The investment came in the form of a $150,000 convertible note.
Ron Unterman, Ph.D., Managing Director of the Slater Technology
Fund was impressed not only with the solar cell technology but applications of Solaris' technology for eyewear and displays,
"Solaris' technology is one of the most innovative approaches I have seen for improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness
of solar energy. In addition, their core nanotechnology holds tremendous opportunity for other market sectors, including improved
viewing angle for video displays, and enhanced vision for patients with macular degeneration. With its strong IP position
and creative technology team, Solaris will continue to expand on its nanotechnology platform which underlies these and other
potential products for both commercial and military markets."
Solaris's technology is based on an optical absorption phenomena
called plasmons. Plasmons, a type of optical absorption, occurs when metals are dissolved into the glass. Colors different
than the dissolved metals appear in the glass when a plasmon occurs. For a plasmon to occur, the dimensions of the metal particles
must be smaller than the wavelength of light.
MAY 3rd, 2005
The Montreal Physics Technologies and Photonics Centre (CEPHOM)
has secured $498,840 through the Minister of Canada Economic Development. In the announcement for the award, The Honourable
Jacques Saada, Minister of Canada Economic Development and Minister indicated that the reasons were related to global competitiveness,
"In a context of very stiff competition from Asian countries, CEPHOM can make a difference by helping local firms develop
competitive products and processes and keeping high value added activities here. CEPHOM has everything it takes to make Quebec
a world-class centre of excellence in optics/photonics."
Pierre Thibault, Director of CEPHOM emphasized the importance of
the funding and the organization's mission, "We are very pleased that CEPHOM's project, initiated by the Andre-Laurendeau
and John Abbott CEGEPS, is receiving funding from the federal government. This contribution is important for the development
of our organization by helping us fulfil our mission, which is to promote the implementation of optics/photonics technologies
in all Quebec enterprises and to support businesses in this sector improve their productivity."
CEPHOM is an organization that promotes the transfer of technology
among optics and photonics firm. The organization plans to utilize its laboratory and the funding to further develop optic
and phontonic communications and information technology.
MAY 3rd, 2005
Trust Licensing Obtains $10 Million Equity Commitment
Trust Licensing, Inc. (OTCBB:TRTL), an intellectual property licensing
company, has entered into an agreement with Cornell Capital Partners, LP whereby Cornell will provide $10 million of equity
financing. Jeffrey W. Sass, President and CEO commented, "We are pleased to announce these significant funding commitments,
a major step in our Company's early history. These funds will enable us to begin to implement our plan and make progress in
several areas, including further development of our portfolio of intellectual property, enforcement of our issued patent,
and sales and marketing activities related to seeking out additional licensees." The company has been issued United States
Patent, #6,101,534, entitled, "Interactive, Remote, Computer Interface System", seven patents pending, and is in the process
of preparing several patent filings.
The company indicates that its licenses technology concepts for
a wide range of commercial applications. Trust Licensing plans to acquire licensees in the entertainment content, education,
advertising, travel and promotion areas. The company references a DVD and CDROM security technique on its web site.
MAY 2nd, 2005
Clearstone Venture Capital Reaches $650 Million
Clearstone Venture Partners, a fund focused on technology innovators
in California and beyond, has closed its $200 Million Venture Capital Fund III, bringing the total capital committed to $650
million for its three funds.
Jim Armstrong, Managing Director described the company's clients
and its investment role, "Entrepreneurs who work with Clearstone are attracted by our ambition, conviction and track record
for undivided attention on investments we make. We perform a dual role of investor and company builder. An investment from
Clearstone supplements cash with active engagement, supported by extensive networks, deep knowledge of technology markets,
a proven analytical approach and valuable operating expertise. We have a deep appreciation for open communication, and rapid
problem-solving to help talented innovators build great companies of lasting value."
Areas that Clearstone lists as investment targets include software,
enterprise infrastructure, storage, communications, security, wireless, semiconductors, advanced optics and both consumer
& business Internet.
MAY 2nd, 2005
NovaMin Technology, Inc., a biomaterials company with tooth remineralization technology, has
received funds from investors to further its plan to eliminate dental bills associated with cavities and other oral health
problems. The company has obtained $4.4 million in a financing round to help commercialize NovaMin, which is NovaMin Technology's
proprietary active material used to stimulate bone growth. Intersouth Partners led the Series B round.
MAY 2nd, 2005
Millennium Cell Inc. (NASDAQ: MCEL), a hydrogen battery company,
has completed a private placement of its Series C convertible preferred stock and warrants valued at $10 million for the company.
Millennium Cell's CEO, H. David Ramm, commented on the financing and the company's end-markets, "Today's announcement of this
successful financing will enable us to further build on the recent momentum established in our business. With this additional
capital and continued support from our commercial partners and federal government agencies, we look forward to realizing our
goal of broad military and commercial availability of hydrogen batteries based on our technology."
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