• TeraDiode

  Led · Series B · Nov 2011

  TeraDiode develops high‑power lasers based on a wavelength beam combining technology pioneered by its co‑founders Dr. Bien Chann and Dr. Robin Huang at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. The company holds the exclusive license for that technology from MIT and is building its own portfolio of intellectual property. TeraDiode is commercializing lasers for industrial and defense applications. Led by CEO Parviz Tayebati, Ph.D., the company plans to use new capital to bring its laser products to market. The business closed a $10M Series B and is actively hiring. Jason Martin of Argonaut Private Equity will join the company's board as part of the financing.

• Solyndra

  Participated · Convertible Note · Jan 2009

  Solyndra produces cylindrical thin-film solar PV modules that are mounted horizontally for faster, lower-cost rooftop installations and capture direct and reflected sunlight across a 360-degree surface. Its 200 Series product has seen strong acceptance, and the company reported annual revenues exceeding $140 million last year. Solyndra has shipped nearly 100 megawatts of panels and completed more than 1,000 installations in 20 countries. The company completed a 300,000 square foot manufacturing and customer demonstration facility and plans to install remaining production tools in 2011 to bring its annual production run rate to approximately 200 MW by year-end, rising to 300 MW when fully ramped. The new facility is expected to enable an installed system cost-of-goods-sold of approximately $2 per watt in the first quarter of 2013. Solyndra employs about 1,050 people and says it aims to be cash-flow positive by the end of the year while pursuing cost reductions and expanded sales and marketing. Solyndra manufactures cylindrical solar photovoltaic panels. The company secured a $535M loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy, funded under the Recovery Act, to finance the first phase of its second manufacturing facility near its Fremont plant. The new plant is designed to produce 500 megawatts per year and will enable Solyndra to fulfill a contractual backlog of over $2 billion. Solyndra estimates the project will create 3,000 initial construction jobs and as many as 1,000 jobs once the facility opens, plus hundreds of installer jobs nationwide. Across both facilities, production over their lifetime is projected to cut more than 350 million metric tons of CO2 emissions or the equivalent of 850 million barrels of oil. CEO Dr. Chris Gronet said the funding supports economic recovery and the planet’s need for clean-tech solutions and thanked President Barack Obama, the DOE, Congress and the company’s investors. Solyndra manufactures copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar panels for installation. The company reported $1.2 billion in contracts for its panels through 2012. In the new year it raised $219.2 million in a fifth-round financing from a syndicate of 23 investors. The financing breakdown was $96.6 million allocated as working capital and $122.2 million in convertible promissory notes. Solyndra has not disclosed specific plans for the proceeds or whether the raise is part of the $600 million in capital it said it had lined up in October. GreenTechMedia reported this infusion could form the bulk of a larger $350 million goal for the round.

• OmniGuide

  Participated · Equity · May 2008

  OmniGuide Surgical develops and manufactures the BeamPath® Laser System, a flexible fiber-enabled CO2 laser platform for minimally invasive surgery. The company designs and manufactures its system in Cambridge, Massachusetts using proprietary technology invented at MIT. The BeamPath system has been used in nearly 100,000 surgical procedures, primarily in Gynecology and ENT. OmniGuide positions CO2 laser energy as causing less tissue damage versus other advanced energy products, which it says can improve surgeon experience and patient outcomes. The company distributes the BeamPath Laser System in the U.S. through a direct sales force. OmniGuide recently closed a $15 million equity financing to support commercialization and product launches into the ENT market and further growth in Gynecology. OmniGuide is a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based medical device company specializing in advanced energy surgical products for the operating room. Its core product is the BeamPath® flexible laser system, which has been used in over 40,000 adult and pediatric surgical procedures across gynecology, ENT and neurosurgery. The company’s fiber products are based on proprietary technology invented at MIT and originally published in Science and Nature. OmniGuide distributes in the U.S. through a direct sales force and in Europe through distribution partners. Led by President and CEO Scott Flora, the company intends to use the proceeds of the recent financing to accelerate commercialization of its advanced energy surgical products. The company closed a $35M financing with an affiliate of OrbiMed Advisors. OmniGuide produces BeamPath, a flexible optical fiber used to guide CO2 laser beams in surgery. The company said it will use the new funding to expand its laser surgery business. BeamPath has been used in more than 3,000 surgeries, including procedures for head and neck cancers, airway clearing, and hearing restoration. More than 200 hospitals in the U.S. and Europe use the system. OmniGuide reported $2 million in revenue last year and CEO Yoel Fink told VentureWire he expects the company to be profitable in 2009. The company has about 80 employees and originally licensed the technology from MIT. OmniGuide is based in Cambridge, Mass.

No current team members are available.