Apr 14 2009
Protochips announced today that they have closed on their first round of equity financing to support the product launch of the Aduro heated holder system for electron microscopy. The company has been self-funded to date, deriving revenue from products that improve the performance of electron microscopes used in materials, energy, and biological research. Protochips has also executed $1.25M in grants from sources including the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Institutes of Health, NCIDEA and the North Carolina Department of Commerce. Protochips' products revolutionize the testing of nano-materials, compounds and processes by enabling these materials to be studied in real operating conditions using standard laboratory equipment.
Michael Zapata, the Chairman and an investor in the round said "It is not often in this economy that you come across a company that is self-sustainable and expanding revenues before they have even had a marketing budget. They have an incredible team with a new technology that will accelerate energy, materials and life sciences research, and they have a revolutionary product with features and benefits the market is now demanding."
The products apply modern semiconductor technology to a field accustomed to working with decades old practices and tools. The result is that corporations can now leverage their existing instrumentation for much more efficient and reliable commercialization of technology. The performance of new materials can now be studied and improved in the same type of environments that would be experienced in real world applications. Lifecycle testing of a new material that once took months can now be completed in an afternoon. Possibilities like this mean that higher yields, improved efficiency and increased reliability can be achieved in a wide range of products including batteries, catalysts and drug delivery agents.
The funding will be used to build the marketing program and add a sales and marketing team. David Nackashi, the CEO of Protochips stated, "We were in a good financial position, but this raise gives us the opportunity to accelerate growth by fully supporting the launch of the AduroTM product line." The AduroTM products allow for the real-time study of materials inside microscopes at temperatures up to 1200?C and changes at a rate of 1,000,000?C per second. "This is high impact science and will result in our customers bringing better products to market faster."
Investors included Piedmont Angel Network, Jefferson Corner Group, Wilmington Investor Network and private individuals.