ELK RIVER, MN -- Cymbet Corp. announced that it has successfully completed the final phase of its third round of private equity financing, raising $31 million. The company will use proceeds from this financing round to expand EnerChip sales and marketing initiatives globally, as well as to add manufacturing capacity for its eco-friendly, EnerChip solid-state energy storage devices in response to rising customer demand. This round was co-led by Perseus, L.L.C., a Washington, D.C.-based private equity fund manager, and Intel Capital, Santa Clara, CA. Also participating, new investor Texas Instruments and existing investors Bekaert N.V., Helmet Capital, Cedar Point Capital, The Dow Chemical Company and The IGNITE Group.
"Cymbet is a recognized leader in the development of solid-state rechargeable energy storage devices used to supply back-up power for integrated circuits found in a wide range of electronic products," said Bill Priesmeyer, CEO of Cymbet. "In addition to being eco-friendly, an EnerChip lasts the life of the product it serves and replaces conventional disposable batteries. EnerChip micro-storage devices are designed into many applications including: industrial controls, consumer electronics, hand-held wireless devices, and medical, military and energy-efficient intelligent building systems."
Priesmeyer added, "The Cymbet team has moved this unique EnerChip technology past the development stage and into commercialization. A portion of the proceeds will be used to substantially increase Cymbet's manufacturing capacity. We're pleased to have completed this round of financing and we'd like to thank our new and existing investors. The fact that we were able to secure funding in today's challenging financial environment reflects our investors' belief in Cymbet and the exciting sales growth prospects for the EnerChip product family."
Ken Socha, Senior Managing Director of Perseus, L.L.C., said, "We're committed to investing in companies with a clear vision, a technical leadership position and large target markets in the alternative energy sector. Cymbet fits these criteria as an acknowledged leader in its field with one of the most innovative and advanced energy storage devices in the marketplace. We see significant potential for back-up power and energy-harvesting products, particularly as they can contribute to the U.S. national priority of energy efficiency and CO2 reduction."
Eco-friendliness is a key attribute of the Cymbet EnerChip, since the product is designed to eliminate battery replacement and last the life of the device it powers. As a solid-state device, the EnerChip also is lead-free and contains no hazardous materials, flammable solvents or liquids that can harm the user or the environment. Moreover, when coupled with energy-harvesting techniques, an EnerChip device can supply the energy storage to build self-contained, long-lived powered systems and avoid the use of traditional battery power approaches.
The recently introduced EnerChip CC is the world's first solid-state energy device with integrated energy management-offering electronic designers new ways to incorporate energy storage directly into an integrated circuit. Cymbet also is a leader in the field of energy harvesting linking to "free" ambient light, heat and motion to power devices such as wireless sensors. In combination with other electronics, the Cymbet EnerChip enables "zero power" wireless sensor networks that reduce energy usage, and monitor security or control environmental conditions in commercial and industrial environments.
Steve Eichenlaub, Managing Director Cleantech Sector, Intel Capital, commented, "Intel Capital is committed to accelerating innovation through selective strategic investments in companies like Cymbet.
Eco-friendly power sources for hand-held and mobile platforms, as well as in emerging areas like sensor networks for energy-efficiency monitoring in and around the Smart Grid, are areas of strong potential growth. We believe that Cymbet is on the right track."
About Cymbet
Cymbet Corporation—a clean technology company—is the leader in solid-state energy storage technology. The company is the first to market an eco-friendly, rechargeable, solid-state energy device that provides embedded systems designers with new distributed power capabilities. The company's solid-state energy devices enable new concepts in energy storage application for integrated circuits and new products for medical, sensor, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, industrial control, communications and portable electronic devices.
About Perseus
Perseus, L.L.C. is a merchant bank and private equity fund management company headquartered in Washington, D.C., with an office in New York City. Perseus has invested in numerous growth equity, distressed and buyout transactions in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. Perseus manages seven private equity funds. Since its inception in 1995, Perseus has made investments in more than 63 portfolio companies in a wide variety of industries in which Perseus and its principals have expertise, including healthcare; energy, environmental, and engineering technologies; and branded consumer products. Perseus has $1.5 billion in funds under management. Perseus also co-manages a $449 million fund that invests exclusively in life sciences companies.
About Intel Capital
Intel Capital, Intel's global investment organization, makes equity investments in innovative technology start-ups and companies worldwide. Intel Capital invests in a broad range of companies offering hardware, software, and services targeting enterprise, home, mobility, health, consumer Internet, semiconductor manufacturing and cleantech. Since 1991, Intel Capital has invested more than US$9.5 billion in over 1,050 companies in 47 countries. In that timeframe, 175 portfolio companies have gone public on various exchanges around the world and 241 were acquired or participated in a merger. In 2008, Intel Capital invested about US$1.59 billion in 169 investments with approximately 62 percent of funds (excluding Clearwire) invested outside North America.