Baltimore, Maryland – Pixelligent Technologies, producer of PixClear™, the leading nanocrystal dispersions for demanding applications in the electronics, semiconductor, and industrial markets, announced today that it closed $5.1 million in new equity funding. The funds will be used to further accelerate the scaling-up of its manufacturing capacity and to hire application, engineering, and business development focused employees.
This round included expanded participation from both new and existing investors. The lead investor was once again the Abell Foundation and the company continued to receive strong support from its investor base with a follow-on investor participation rate of more than 85%. During the past five years, Pixelligent has raised $14.0M in equity funding and has been awarded more than $9M in U.S. government grant programs.
“During the past 12 months we have seen a tremendous increase in demand for our nanocrystal dispersions spanning the CMOS Image Sensor, ITO, LED, OLED and Flat Panel Display markets. This demand is coming from customers around the globe with the fastest growth being realized in Asia. In the first quarter of 2013, we began shipping our first commercial orders and currently have more than 30 customers at various stages of product qualification. This investment will enable Pixelligent to significantly increase our manufacturing capacity and allow us to begin meeting current customer demand,” commented Craig Bandes, President & CEO.
The funding round comes on the heels of the launch of PixClear™, Pixelligent’s first standard product family of nanocrystal dispersions, and the initiation of an aggressive advertising campaign to support the product launch. Pixelligent is currently planning to expand its manufacturing footprint and is looking at additional facilities in Baltimore, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
“Pixelligent has made significant progress across all functions of the business from production to sales and has achieved all of its critical milestones during the past 12 months, demonstrating the company’s ability to deliver. Pixelligent is emerging as a leader on the Baltimore tech scene and is creating new job opportunities in the local area”, commented Robert Embry, President of the Abell Foundation.
About Pixelligent Technologies, LLC
Pixelligent Technologies, producer of PixClear™, manufactures high-quality Zirconia and Hafnia nanocrystal additives and polymer nanocomposites for the electronics and semiconductor markets. Pixelligent’s proprietary nanocrystal dispersion technology prevents agglomeration even at high concentrations, and its unique capping process provides precise control over the target applications’ optical, chemical and mechanical properties. This enables Pixelligent to deliver unparalleled transparency, high refractive index, corrosion protection, and scratch resistance to numerous families of polymers from acrylics and epoxies to silicones and spin-on glasses. Pixelligent is actively developing applications with leading-edge technology firms, as well as Fortune 500 companies.