January 05, 2007
Polymer Vision Raises $21M - Rival For Plastic Logic?
The Netherlands-based Polymer Vision, a spinoff of the Philips, has raised $21M from a Luxembourg based investment company called Technology Capital SA.
Interesting timing for the announcement, coming as it does on the back of Plastic Logic's big VC round earlier in the week. So we asked Polymer’s chief marketing man, Thomas van der Zijden, if the two firms are rivals. He says no, pointing out that the products are targeted at different markets and have different properties, although both are depending on E-Ink's technology for the front plane.
Business-wise, the British company aims to manufacture its own displays in Germany, whereas the Dutch firm is going for the fabless model.
We also asked about the differences between the products, and what Polymer Vision intends to do with the new money, also we wanted to know who is behind Technology Capital, a brand new name for us. See Interview below.
a:c - What is the new capital for - is it to finance capex or hire more people?
PV:A combination of both with the primary focus to enable market launch in 2007.
The investors are unknown to us, who are they and why you decided to work this particular investor?
PV: Technology Capital SA in Luxemburg is a new investment company in Europe funded by private investors and Polymer Vision is their very first investment. The focus of Technology Capital will be on startup technology companies in Europe and we expect the firm to increase its public relations efforts in the coming months.Technology Capital shares Polymer Vision’s strategy and vision. It supports our ambition to lead the opportunities in the rollable display market. With Technology Capital as our solid investment partner and a first-rate team of people in Polymer Vision we can focus on capitalizing on this opportunity and further strengthening our lead position.
a:c- Is your business model a fabless model?
PV: Indeed we work together with partners to manufacture our products.
a:c - When will you be shipping first product?
PV: 2007
a:c - How is the Polymer Vision display different from that of Plastic Logic's?
PV: Polymer Vision's display is truly rollable allowing for integration in small handheld (pocketable) devices. For the first time in the world the display size can be larger than the device itself. When not in use the display can be simply rolled into the device. Visit our website to watch the video:
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February 15, 2006
VC Euros flowing to RFID startups
We’ve posted about the growing amount of venture money flowing to proven online ventures, now it is time to look at another segment, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID).
We tracked eight investments in the past few months. By our definition, that's a trend.
The eight deals do not include investments in startups that are developing RFID chips made using polymers or semi-conducting plastics such as Printed Systems GmbH, recently funded by Degussa, or PolyIC (its RFID chip is shown here), funded by Siemens and Leonhard Kurz GmbH&Co. KG
The size of the deals tend to be smaller than the online and semiconductor VC investments, but the number of transactions is on the upswing. The finalizing of industry standards and the radical drop in RFID chip price (from $4 to less than 20 cents) has a lot to do with confidence in the sector, say industry insiders.
Tracking uniforms with chips (Image: Tagsys)
Used until very recently RFID tags were mainly used to keep track of dirty laundry, library books, cows, and gas canisters. It is now becoming more sophisticated.
Applications are emerging as public and private organizations see RFID systems as a way to squeeze more costs out of the supply chain, as a better way of toting personal identification around, and as a storage place for e-tickets.
For example, French startup Tagsys says Pfizer is using its RFID technology to battle counterfeiters of its popular Viagra drug
(Does anyone really believe that those spam ads for “discounted” versions of the little blue pill are delivering the real thing?).
Balance Bourbeau, a Canadian vendor truck scales systems used Identec's long range RFID technology to manage timber assets and comply with government reporting requirements.
An editor we once worked for used to say: one’s an event, two’s wait and see, and three’s a trend, so eight deals for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) startups in eight months is a trend.The following is a quick list of recent transactions
Stockway (FI) – RFID software for developers-enables tracking via Internet – €3M (estimated)
Inside Contactless (FR)– short range RFID chips - €10.9 mln
Identec (AT) - long range RFID hardware for item and asset tracking - €3.4M
Idencom (CH)– RFID component for biometric passports - Swiss business angels- €1M
Safe-ID Solutions (DE) – an RFID systems for biometric passports (Infineon spinoff) -€7M
Tagsys (FR) – short range RFID labels and readers for item tracking -$12.2M.
Datamars (CH) – short range item and livestock tracking - undisclosed amount
RFiT (AT) – RFID software and gear for integrators (Infineon spinoff)– €4M
It looks like investors here think the time is right to fund the suppliers of chips, readers, and software. Notable is the interest in the data management software required to run an RFID application, which says that more of the technology pieces required to implement a real life system are being funded.
Whether or not any of these startups will emerge as a major player depends on the staying power of the VCs and the ambition of the founders. If the recent past is anything to go by, many will end up being tasty tidbits for deep-pocketed trade buyers.
