Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: "Plextronics Receives Investment from Applied Ventures to Expand Development of Printed Electronics Technology"

Home > Press > Plextronics Receives Investment from Applied Ventures to Expand Development of Printed Electronics Technology

Abstract:
Plextronics, Inc., a leading innovator of printed electronics technology, announced today that it has received a strategic investment by Applied Ventures, LLC, the venture capital arm of Applied Materials, Inc. . The investment will help Plextronics continue to expand its product development and manufacturing capabilities, as well as increase its investment in sales and marketing activities.

Plextronics Receives Investment from Applied Ventures to Expand Development of Printed Electronics Technology

PITTSBURGH, PA | Posted on November 6th, 2007

This investment comes on the heels of Plextronics' recently closed $20.6 million Series B financing, led by Solvay North America Investments LLC, a member of Solvay Group, with participation by Birchmere Ventures, Draper Triangle Ventures, Firelake Capital Management and Newlin Investment Company. An additional investment in the Series B round was provided by the Sustainable Energy Fund (SEF) of Central Eastern Pennsylvania. This was the second investment in the company that SEF has made this year. Plextronics has raised a total of $41 million in equity capital over the last five years. Plextronics' President and CEO Andy Hannah said, "We are focused on developing relationships with companies such as Applied Materials, an established leader that can help us achieve our goals. Applied's experience in commercializing production-worthy equipment and processing systems is of particular relevance to enabling the mass-production of our technology."

The printed electronics market comprises next-generation light, power and circuitry products, including flexible displays, plastic solar cells and organic RFID tags. Plextronics' device design, process technology and Plexcore(R) branded inks enable the formation of active electrical layers - the key drivers of printed electronics.

Dr. Omkaram "Om" Nalamasu, Applied Materials' vice president of advanced technologies and CTO of Applied's Energy and Environmental Systems Group, will join the Plextronics board as an observer.

"We encourage the development of next-generation lighting and power products that can deliver high-efficiency, cost-effective electronic solutions to the global community," said J. Christopher Moran, vice president and general manager of Applied Ventures. "We are pleased to align ourselves with companies such as Plextronics that are creating the technology capable of commercial-scale performance and manufacturability."

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About Plextronics, Inc.
Applied Ventures, LLC (http://www.appliedventures.com), a subsidiary of Applied Materials, Inc., invests in early stage companies with high growth potential pursuing technologies that are complementary to Applied Materials' core business and can stimulate the growth of applications for semiconductors, flat panel displays and related products and services. Applied Materials, Inc. is the global leader in Nanomanufacturing Technology(TM) solutions with a broad portfolio of innovative equipment, service and software products for the fabrication of semiconductor chips, flat panel displays, solar photovoltaic cells, flexible electronics and energy efficient glass (http://www.appliedmaterials.com).

About Plextronics, Inc.

Plextronics, Inc. is a leading innovator of technology for printed electronics. The printed electronics market comprises next-generation light, power and circuitry products, including flexible displays, plastic solar cells and organic RFID tags. The market for printed electronics was approximately $1 billion in 2006 and is expected to exceed $300 billion within 20 years.

With a company vision of enabling 15 billion printed electronic devices by 2015, Plextronics is creating technology capable of commercial-scale performance and manufacturability. The company's device design, process technology and Plexcore(R) branded inks enable the formation of active electrical layers -- the key drivers of printed electronics.

Plextronics was founded in 2002 as a spinout from Carnegie Mellon University, based upon conductive polymer technology developed by Dr. Richard McCullough. Over the past five years, Plextronics' team of scientists has refined and further developed this technology to deliver exceptional performance for printed electronics.

Some of the company's recent honors include: 2007 Red Herring Top 100 Company, 2006 Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Awards Runner-Up, 2006 NREL Clean Energy Entrepreneur of the Year, the 2006 Organic Semiconductor Industry Awards Start-Up of the Year, and Top 50 Nanotechnology Start-Up by Lux Research.

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Contacts:
Plextronics, Inc.
2180 William Pitt Way
Pittsburgh, PA 15238
Phone: (412) 423-2030
Fax: (412) 423-2039
Investor relations

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