Date Announced: 05 May 2012 Pacific Light Technologies (PLT), a Portland OR based developer of quantum dot down-converter products for high efficiency LED lighting, announced today that it has received nearly $2 million in equity funding with additional commitments to bring its Series A funding to over $3 million. Participants in the funding include Pivotal Investments, the Oregon Angel Fund, and individual investors. Quantum dots will enable lower priced and more pleasing LED lighting for home and office. They will reduce industry dependence upon rare earth materials and electricity use worldwide. “QDs will give us better, cheaper and greener lamps” said John Miner, of Pivotal Investments, “and we can reduce imports of rare earths the far-east or from new mines in the US”. “PLT’s unique quantum dot products have been sampled to leading LED lighting companies who have verified the unique performance advantages of our technology, including moisture and humidity resistance, dramatically reduced self-absorption losses, and ability to withstand high optical intensity” said Ron Nelson, CEO of PLT. Dr. Nelson is formerly CEO of Agility Communications, a tunable laser company acquired by JDSU, and a founder of Lytel, an LED and laser company acquired by Tyco Electronics. He was formerly an executive with JDSU, Motorola and Bell Labs and an Executive in Residence at Battery Ventures. “PLT has assembled a strong team of quantum dot specialists and seasoned startup company executives with 2 IPO’s and 4 acquisitions behind them.” said Robert Steele, an LED industry consultant and former market analyst with Strategies Unlimited (Pennwell) who also serves on the PLT Advisory Board. “Quantum dots have been recognized as the ‘holy grail’ of LED lighting for years, but no company has come close to meeting the demanding performance and reliability requirements in this industry until now. PLT executives have a strong track record of translating advanced technology into leading products in the marketplace.” While lighting is an $80 billion per year worldwide market, LED penetration have been hampered by high initial cost, poor color quality, and insufficient light output. With QDs and other industry innovations, LEDs will capture a major part of this large market.PLT’s executive team includes CTO Juanita Kurtin, PhD, formerly VP of R&D at SpectraWatt and Julian Osinski, VP of Product Marketing, who formerly worked with Soraa, Santur, and JDSU.Pacific Light Technologies will be demonstrating their technology in a private suite and available for meetings at Lightfair International 2012 May 9-11, 2012. Please contact Julian Osinski at 650-868-5004, or [email protected] to schedule a meeting.About Pacific Light Technologies:PLT was founded in early 2011 by a strong team of quantum dot specialists formerly with SpectraWatt, an Intel spinoff which attempted to develop quantum dot enhanced solar cells prior to closing in 2011. PLT was awarded an early grant from the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnology Institute which, along with founder funding, fueled the initial development and delivery of prototypes to major customers. In late 2011 PLT acquired the intellectual property of SpectraWatt. www.pacificlighttech.comAbout Pivotal Investments:Pivotal Investments (is the Northwest's first venture capital firm enabling the sustainable economy through a disciplined, early stage investment approach that recognizes exceptional value today and tomorrow. Pivotal’s Managing Directors include John Miner, former President of Intel Capital, and Brad Zenger, a co-founder of Pixelworks.www.pivotal-investments.com About the Oregon Angel Fund:Founded in 2007, OAF is a community supported, professionally managed, investor driven angel fund backed by the leaders of Oregon’s business and technology community, the Oregon Growth Account, and the Oregon Community Foundation. OAF invests some $5 million annually in the most promising startups and early-stage growth companies in Oregon and SW Washington. Over 700 jobs have been created by the 24 companies in the portfolio. www.OregonAngelFund.com
Contact
Ron Nelson 408 355 5163
E-mail:[email protected]
Web Site:www.pacificlighttech.com
