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Announcements 4Press Releases 4News Media 4Conferences & Exhibitions
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. DenseLight has developed proprietary photonics technologies with the potential to revolutionize the global optical networking industry
· Company has made a breakthrough in the monolithic integration of active and passive components to produce a wide range of Photonic Integrated Circuits (PICs) for next generation high-speed optical networks
· DenseLight is operationally ready to mass-manufacture Indium Phosphide (InP) chips incorporating proven semiconductor processes and proprietary technologies to achieve previously unavailable high levels of yield
· Ready-for-market products empower customers with significant competitive advantages in performance, power consumption, footprint & cost of ownership, and are deployable in the high-demand metro optical networking space
· 3i backs company from inception through to commercial production
· Investment is one of the largest 3i has made in the Asia Pacific region to date
Singapore, 10 January 2002 - International venture capital group 3i Group plc today announced that it has invested a total of US$30 million in DenseLight Semiconductors Private Limited ("DenseLight"), a Singapore-based total photonics solution provider which owns proprietary technologies and has launched a range of products set to revolutionize the global optical networking industry.
The investment includes funds from the US$400m 3i Asia Pacific Technology Fund and gives 3i the largest individual shareholding in the company. Existing shareholders include DenseLight’s founders, members of the management team, NTU Ventures and employees of the rapidly growing company.
The investment by 3i has been made over a 15-month period, following an initial seed round investment of US$1.2 million made by 3i in October 2000. Throughout this period, 3i has been working very closely with DenseLight management to build up DenseLight’s manufacturing capability and expand its staff to manage what is now a fully operational facility. The investment was utilised to fund this development as well as to expand DenseLight’s significant R&D programme which has resulted in 30 patent-pending inventions. During this period, DenseLight was in stealth mode as it finalised the commercialisation strategy for its technology and product roadmap.
The announcement comes as DenseLight unveils several new products ahead of major international photonics trade shows scheduled in the US and Europe in coming weeks. The company has also released details of its world-class manufacturing facilities and has revealed that engineering samples of products are currently being evaluated by customers in North America ahead of commercial production.
Company growing rapidly, ready for commercial production
Founded by four former professors from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore,DenseLight was incorporated in May 2000 and currently employs close to 100 employees, of whom over 50% hold PhD and Masters degrees.
"With capital in place, a strong technology base, an experienced team, a wide range of innovative products, rapid time-to-market and global technical support, DenseLight is poised to be a major player in providing advanced component solutions to our customers, " noted Dr Yee-Loy Lam, DenseLight’s Chairman and Chief Technology Officer. He added, "As the functional requirements for optical components multiply with the evolving complexity of global optical networks, our technologies will become very important, providing a vital solution for today’s customers."
DenseLight has developed revolutionary photonics technologies that the company believes for the first time enables the commercial fabrication of integrated optical subsystems incorporating both active and passive components onto a single indium phosphide chip. The company’s proprietary DensePICTM technology allows it to manufacture a wide range of innovative high-performance indium phosphide (InP) based photonic integrated circuits (PICs) to meet the stringent needs of next-generation high-speed optical networks, empowering customers with competitive advantages in performance, power consumption, footprint, and total cost of ownership.
Added Dr Lam, "DenseLight’s goal is to continuously invent and implement market-leading technologies to render high-yield and high-volume manufacturing of next-generation optical components. We believe that DensePICTM will enable a paradigm shift in next-generation optical networking, significantly reducing total cost of ownership for our customers."
Market segment set for solid growth
The dense wavelength division multiplexing ("DWDM") optical components market (including active and passive components, modules and subsystems) is one of the fastest growing sectors of the telecommunications market.
Over the last few years, exponential growth in global data traffic and the proliferation of corporate networks have created unprecedented demand for bandwidth. While bandwidth has been added to long haul networks, there are still major bottlenecks in metro areas where DenseLight's cost-effective, high-performance products are a timely solution for increasingly cost-conscious customers looking to add capacity to this segment of the market.
3i brings expertise and contacts - in addition to capital
DenseLight is one of 3i’s largest investments in the region to date since the company established its Asia Pacific business in 1997. The international venture capital group has been investing in the optical components industry for over 10 years and has built up a select international portfolio across Europe, the United States and with this investment, in Asia.
"We are very excited to be investing in such a promising business," noted Jane Crawford, Managing Director 3i Asia Pacific. "The company has a talented management team and proprietary technology and products with significant global potential."
She added, "The 3i team is working closely with the company as they continue to commercialise their technology and look to further funding rounds in the international marketplace. Our intention is to connect them to a wide range of international contacts with industry and business expertise and the ability to help drive the company’s long term success."
Added Dr Lam, "3i’s investment is a strong endorsement of DenseLight’s technology and brings significant benefits to the business as we look to launch the company commercially on the global stage. 3i’s long experience in growing businesses coupled with their ability to connect DenseLight with other innovative players via their unique international network will, we believe, add real value to DenseLight."
Ian Lobley, a senior member of 3i's Communications Sector Group commented, "3i is seeking to back companies who will drive the next wave of the 'optical revolution' where large scale deployment of low-cost products will be achieved. DenseLight is a good example of the type of businesses 3i is looking to back, and shows the geographical breadth of 3i’s investments in the global optical components industry."
NOTES TO EDITORS:
About DenseLight Semiconductors
Headquartered in Singapore, DenseLight Semiconductors provides value-added component solutions for next-generation optical networks. DenseLight Semiconductors’ mission is to deliver integrated optical subsystems on a single chip, thereby empowering customers with competitive advantages in performance, power consumption, footprint, and total cost of ownership. DenseLight has from the beginning organised itself to be a leading player in the optical components market. The company has established a highly functional online support network backed by telephone and other support that is designed to meet the needs of customers around the world in a timely and flexible manner.
DenseLight is ready to begin commercial production, with a 50,000 sq. ft. purpose-built facility housing its headquarters, R&D and manufacturing operations under one roof. Its 15,000 sq. ft. submicron-class cleanroom is fully equipped for cutting-edge InP wafer fabrication, enabling vertical integration from product design to epitaxial growth, wafer processing, backend processing, packaging, and functional & reliability testing. The company has launched a number of new products, including direct modulated DFB lasers, high-performance gain chips and superluminescent diodes with soon to be released products including tunable lasers, Raman pump lasers and embedded optical channel monitors.
DenseLight will be on site at Photonics West 2002 in San Jose, CA USA (Jan 22-24). Please feel free to visit them at booth #5084. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.denselight.com. DensePICTM is a trademark of DenseLight Semiconductors. All other trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.
About 3i
Founded in 1945, 3i is a leading international venture capital company, bringing capital, knowledge and connections to the creation and development of businesses around the world. 3i invests in a wide range of opportunities from start-ups to buy-outs and buy-ins, focusing on businesses with high growth potential and strong management. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, 3i has a portfolio of over 2,500 investments in a wide range of industries and invests across three continents through local investment teams in Europe, Asia Pacific and the USA. For further information, visit 3i's website at www.3i.com
For further information, please contact:
3i - Hamish Bell, Tel +65 438-3131, Email hamish_bell@3i.com (Janice Lee, Tel +65 216 0419); Ian Lobley, Tel +44 207 975-3147, Email ian_lobley@3i.com
DenseLight - Dr Lye-Hing Chua, Tel +65 415-4432, Fax +65 415 4414, Email lhchua@denselight.com; Dr Siu-Chung Tam, Tel +65 415-4418, Fax +65 415 4414, Email sctam@denselight.com
[1] Optical networking enables the transmission of high-speed data across fibre optic systems by harnessing light to enhance bandwidth