Nuventix secures $10 million in funding
Nuventix, the Austin, Texas-based developer of SynJet coolers, has closed a $10 million round of investment. All existing investors – including Braemar Energy Ventures, CenterPoint Ventures, InterWest Partners, Rho Ventures, The Bergquist Company, and GE (NYSE: GE) – contributed to the round.
Nuventix’ SynJet modules provide active cooling for LED lighting products. “Nuventix has customers in over 50 countries,” said the company’s CEO, Jim Balthazar. “This funding will power both our continued global expansion and technology growth as we continue to advance SynJet technology for use in LED lighting and electronics cooling.”
Nuventix said that it had a record year last year that included an increase in revenue of more than 300 percent.
GE files patent lawsuit against AgiLight
GE Lighting Solutions, LLC has filed a lawsuit against AgiLight, Inc., in the US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division.
San Antonio, Texas-based AgiLight sells LED light strings for use in signage illumination marketed under the SignRayz designation.
The complaint alleges that the AgiLight SignRayz series of products infringe four US patents owned by GE Lighting Solutions, namely no. 7,160,140; no. 7,520,771; no. 7,633,055; and no. 7,832,896.
The GE complaint asks for monetary damages and also requests the destruction of infringing products as well as the equipment used to make the products.
Agilight is a subsidiary of General LED and signed a licensing agreement in 2009 to use white LEDs from Nichia in various of its products.
Chinese light-bulb maker TCP files for IPO in US
Chinese light-bulb maker TCP International Holdings Inc has filed for an initial public offering (IPO) of its common stock in the USA. According to an article on the NASDAQ website, this could raise up to $100 million. The filing did not mention the number of shares being sold in the offering, or the exchange the stock would list on.
Shanghai-based TCP is the leading provider of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) in the US, and manufactures 3,500 varieties of CFLs as well as 275 varieties of LED lamps. It is the top energy-efficient bulb supplier to The Home Depot, a giant US retailer, and also supplies Wal-Mart Stores and Homebase Group. TCP International saw its sales decrease 2% to $281 million in 2011.
Last week, Germany-based OLED developer Novaled said that it had filed for an IPO in the US.
Luminus announces environmental certification, LM-80 accreditation
LED maker Luminus Devices has announced two important certifications for its facilities in Massachusetts. These are ISO 14001:2004, which recognizes the company's ability to meet rigorous international criteria in the management of environmental and sustainability processes; and OHSAS 18001:2007, which is awarded to companies meeting occupational health and safety management system specifications.
In related news, Luminus also announced that its R&D and Testing Laboratory has been accredited to conduct testing on LEDs to the LM-80 standard, the approved method for measuring LED light sources. The accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 is awarded by the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP).
Arvind Baliga, VP of Engineering at Luminus Devices, said, “This accreditation will cut our product development time, and assure our growing customer base that Luminus Big Chip LEDs will deliver the promised light and color performance to specifications over a long period of time. The reports generated by our LM-80 testing are also critical if customers wish to seek an Energy Star certificate.”
