Plastic Logic raises a further $50m; sets up HQ in US; to launch 1st consumer device next year
Plastic Logic, an unlisted company pioneering plastic electronics technology, said it has raised a new round of $50m in equity finance led by existing venture capital investors Oak Investment Partners and Amadeus Capital Partners, joined by its previous investors.
The company has raised over $200m in venture capital so far.
Since its founding in 2000 by leading researchers out of the University of Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory, Plastic Logic has developed intellectual property in plastic electronics, essentially a semiconductor replacement technology that has broad applicability across many markets.
The company said its first product will solve critical issues in manufacturing flexible, thin, highly scalable plastic displays that are lightweight, offer high viewing quality and low power consumption.
It plans to enter the market with a consumer electronics device incorporating this groundbreaking display technology in early 2009.
CEO Richard Archuleta said: "We are approaching very significant milestones in the creation of the plastic electronics industry with the opening of our Dresden plant and the pending launch of our first commercial consumer electronics product.
"This new investment will enable expanded business operations in support of our first commercial product early next year while we continue to develop our IP to deliver on our broader long-term vision."
Amadeus Capital's Hermann Hauser, one of the ‘godfathers' of the Cambridge Cluster of high tech companies, said: "We have placed a big bet that plastic electronics is, indeed, a game-changing technology. Over time, the markets and possibilities for plastic electronics are endless."
Plastic Logic maintains its research and development in Cambridge at the Cambridge Science Park. It is bringing online a new high-volume, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Dresden, Germany from mid September.
It has also recently established a Mountain View, California, headquarters for management, product engineering, product supply chain, sales and marketing, and has appointed new people to its management team.
Recent appointments include Daren Benzi, VP, Business Development; Frank Canova, VP, Product Engineering; Joe Eschbach, VP, Marketing; and Raphael Gernez, VP, Supply Chain.
