Zia Laser Announces $6 Million in Seed Funding; Cutting-Edge Quantum Dot Laser Company on Development Fast Track
Source: Zia Laser Inc.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Zia Laser Inc., developer of quantum dot (QD) semiconductor lasers for the data and telecommunications markets, announced it has received $6 million in seed round funding from Prism Venture Partners and RWI Group. To establish Zia Laser as the leader in QD laser technology and subsystems, the company will leverage its initial investment to aggressively pursue several key hires, build corporate infrastructure and expand product development. Compared to the current industry standard, QD lasers exhibit increased wavelength tunability and improved electronic properties, thereby offering the potential to provide optical networking subsystems with superior performance at a fraction of the present cost.
Zia Laser was founded by faculty members and research scientists at the Center for High Technology Materials at the University of New Mexico. The founders include Luke F. Lester, Petros M. Varangis, Timothy C. Newell, Kevin J. Malloy, Andreas Stintz, and Allen L. Gray. The company has attracted a committed and well-known management team inclusive of Interim CEO Thomas M. Brennan. Brennan was previously Co-founder and President of Micro-Optical Devices, which was acquired by Emcore Corporation in 1997. He also served as Vice President and General Manager of Emcore Photovoltaics, in Albuquerque, NM. The management team also includes CFO Wendy Swedick, most recently Vice President and Controller of the Domestic Cable Operations of MediaOne Group.
In addition to the funding, William M. Seifert, General Partner, Prism Venture Partners, and William R. Baumel, General Partner, RWI Group, will join the company s board of directors. Seifert is an accomplished entrepreneur with over 23 years experience in the data communications industry. Prior to joining Prism, he founded and held senior management positions in Agile Networks, Inc., later sold to Lucent Technologies, and Wellfleet Communications, which merged with Synoptics to form Bay Networks. A top general partner at Prism, Seifert s investment focus is next generation network technology, optical networking and broadband services.
Prior to joining RWI Group, William R. Baumel spent the previous 5 years at Coral Ventures, where he was a General Partner focusing on early-stage technology investments in the communications and software industries. He has served on the boards of BroadRiver Communications, Integral Access, Magnet, and Optical Solutions. His involvement with these companies has been very extensive, including time spent as the initial CEO and then Chairman of Optical Solutions. Baumel s current investment and Board responsibilities at RWI Group include Cierra Photonics and YY Software.
About Prism Venture Partners
Prism Venture Partners, Westwood, MA, is a leading venture capital firm with early-stage investments in Communications, Internet Business Infrastructure and Healthcare. Since inception in 1996, Prism has rapidly gained industry recognition through the firm s high-visibility investment strategies. With $800 million in capital under management, Prism s growth reflects the extensive entrepreneurial expertise of its partners, a hands-on approach to working with portfolio companies, an integrated network of investors, and access to growing pool of highly-skilled entrepreneurs. Additional information on Prism Venture Partners can be found at http://www.prismventure.com.
About RWI Group
RWI Group is an early-stage information technology venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley with over $165 million of capital under management. Since 1995, RWI Group has invested in more than thirty leading early-stage technology companies. RWI Group focuses on information technology companies poised for rapid growth, with a focus on communications, software, and semiconductor companies. Representative investments include Cierra Photonics, Novalux, Luminous Networks, RangeStar Wireless, Pluris, Kestrel Solutions and Coventor. For more information, visit http://www.rwigroup.com.
Web site: http://www.rwigroup.com
