|
SOMERSET, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 9, 2004--NanoOpto
Corporation, who is applying novel design methods
and proprietary nano-fabrication technology to produce
a broad range of unique optical components that enable
higher quality, low-cost optical components and systems,
announced that it has closed on an additional $3.3
million in venture financing, completing the final
phase of its Series B round. The funding is from existing
equity partners Morgenthaler Ventures; U.S. Trust's
Excelsior Venture Partners III, L.L.C.; Draper Fisher
Jurvetson (DFJ) Gotham Ventures and New England Ventures;
Bessemer Venture Partners; and the Harris & Harris
Group. Harris & Harris took this opportunity to
increase its share of investment in NanoOpto. This
additional $3.3 million brings the total financing
raised by NanoOpto to date to $30.3 million.
"I am delighted that our existing investors are
providing the additional financing that will enable
NanoOpto to move from product development and initial
commercialization into full production," commented
Barry Weinbaum, NanoOpto President & CEO. "It
is particularly gratifying and motivating to have
everyone in unified support for the progress made
and the status attained."
"We are excited by the
progress that NanoOpto is making in demonstrating
the value of its unique product platform by moving
into production for several dynamic, challenging,
and high-growth optical component markets," said
Charles Harris, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive
Officer of Harris & Harris Group. "Harris
& Harris is delighted to continue its show of
confidence and support by increasing its investment
in NanoOpto."
NanoOpto is currently sampling
and shipping its unique technology for a broad range
of markets, including optical disk drives, digital
imaging, projection displays, and telecommunications.
About NanoOpto
NanoOpto Corporation is applying
proprietary nano-fabrication technology to the rapid
design and high-volume manufacture of nano-optic devices
for optical components and systems. The company's
nano-meter scale optical function design capability
combined with wafer-based manufacturing methods delivers
optical components that allow more rapid prototyping,
higher performance, and lower overall system cost.
Both independently and with industry partners, NanoOpto
uses its technology to produce superior versions of
standard optical components and new classes of integrated
optical subassemblies for both custom and general
applications. The company has received financial backing
from leading venture capitalists and is based in Somerset,
New Jersey. For additional information about NanoOpto,
visit www.nanoopto.com.
About Morgenthaler Ventures
Morgenthaler, a leading venture
capital and buyout firm, was founded in 1968. The
firm focuses on early-stage technology investments
as well as middle-market management buyouts. It has
funded over 180 companies in its 33-year history,
including two of the last decade's highest performing
IPOs: Microchip Technology (1993) and Premisys Communications
(1995). Current representative portfolio investments
include component and semiconductor companies such
as Xponent, Cortina Systems, and Peregrine Semiconductor,
as well as systems companies such as Catena Networks
and Caspian Networks. With its $850-million fund raised
in early 2001, the firm has a total of just under
$2.0 billion under management.
About U.S. Trust's Excelsior
Venture Partners III, LLC
Excelsior Venture Partners
III, L.L.C, is the newest private equity fund managed
by the Private Equity Division of U.S. Trust. The
fund was raised in May 2001 with an investment focus
on information technology, communications, life sciences,
and information services. The Private Equity Division
manages two other funds: UST Private Equity Investors
Fund, Inc., and Excelsior Private Equity Fund II,
Inc. The Division manages $400 million across all
three funds.
About Draper Fisher Jurvetson
Gotham Ventures
Draper Fisher Jurvetson Gotham
Ventures is an early-stage information technology
venture capital firm with approximately $100 million
of capital under management, focused on investment
opportunities in New York and the surrounding regions.
The fund is managed by Ross H. Goldstein, Daniel J.
Schultz and Charles Meakem, and is an affiliate fund
of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, a leading venture capital
firm in Silicon Valley.
About Draper Fisher Jurvetson
New England
Based in Cambridge, MA, DFJ
New England is an early-stage venture capital firm,
providing expert counsel and financing to emerging
companies that display the promise of significant
growth and value creation. DFJ New England is the
New England affiliate of Draper Fisher Jurvetson,
a top-tier Silicon Valley venture fund known for visionary
early-stage investment. DFJ New England invests in
information technology companies, with emphasis on
enterprise software and the building block technologies
for computing and communications. It brings to bear
both the long experience of its principals and the
extensive resources of the DFJ network to help portfolio
companies make key decisions and secure customers,
partners, executives, and later round financing.
About Bessemer Venture Partners
Bessemer Venture Partners,
with offices in California, Massachusetts, and New
York, is the leading national, early-stage venture
capital firm in communications technology and internet
infrastructure. The firm manages more than a billion
dollars of venture funds, carrying on a tradition
of hands-on, active venture investing that has continued
since 1911. Many leading-edge communications companies,
including Cascade, Ciena, Parametric, QED, Sirocco,
Sonus Networks, and VeriSign selected BVP as their
early-stage venture partner.
About Harris & Harris Group
Harris & Harris Group,
Inc., is a publicly-traded (NASDAQ-TINY) venture firm.
Historically, Harris & Harris Group has invested
in early-stage companies based on proprietary intellectual
property in a variety of fields. In 1994, Harris &
Harris Group invested in its first nano-technology
company. Since August of 2001, all twelve Harris &
Harris Group's new investments have been in small
technology, which is now its exclusive focus.
Contacts
Interprose PR
Media:
Amy Foschetti, 704-849-0433
amy_foschetti@interprosepr.com
|
