Graphene startup Paragraf raises $60 million
Paragraf Ltd. (Cambridge, England), a pioneer of graphene-based electronics and sensors, is set to expand sales and engineering support globally after raising $60 million in a Series B round of financing.
One of the backers is US intelligence’s venture capital arm In-Q-Tel, which also took a stake in another Cambridge company – Agile Analog – recently (see US intelligence VC invests in Agile Analog).
Participants in the round included previous investors Parkwalk, Amadeus Molten Ventures and IQ Capital as well as new investors New Science Ventures, British Patient Capital an In-Q-Tel.
Paragraf has developed scalable technology for the mass production of transfer-free graphene on semiconductor industry-compatible wafers. Paragraf uses this technology to produce graphene-based electronics devices such as low-power high-sensitivity Hall sensors.
Breaking out into the mainstream
The technology has been used by research institutes and companies around the world including CERN (Geneva, Switzerland) and Rolls Royce (see Rolls Royce has e-plane plans for graphene Hall Effect sensors).
The cash injection will be used to build out engineering and development teams to continue meeting demand for sensors and also to develop new graphene-based electronic devices, Paragraf said. The company’s footprint will be extended to the Americas, Asia as well as Europe.
Paragraf CEO Simon Thomas said: “Graphene is the material which will move the microelectronics industry beyond conventional semiconductors. In the foreseeable future, high-volume manufacturers will be able to use Paragraf chips which offer far better performance at far lower power than any silicon-based device is physically capable of.”
Related links and articles:
News articles:
US intelligence VC invests in Agile Analog
Rolls Royce has e-plane plans for graphene Hall Effect sensors
Hall sensors accurate in 30 tesla fields, cryogenic temperatures
CEO interview: Building a graphene industry, one layer at time
Graphene wafers in production at Paragraf
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