Tunable Laser Startup, Princeton Optronics, Closes 2nd Round Financing
August 27, 2001...Princeton Optronics, Inc. has closed a second round of financing in the amount of $25 million.
Co-led by Investor Growth Capital and St. Paul Venture Capital, Princeton Optronics' latest funding round also
includes investments from Technology Venture Partners and first round investors, Novak Biddle and Intel Capital.
This additional infusion of capital is slated to fund the final development stage of Princeton Optronics' PowerSweep
2000, billed as a high-power, broadly tunable laser to support its existing 12.5 Gb/s receiver and modulator driver
product lines. Leveraging the company's additional competencies in high-power VCSELs, Micro Electro-Mechanical
Systems (MEMs) and RF technologies, Princeton Optronics now offers a complete suite of component product line.
"We are thrilled to welcome our new investors and very pleased that Princeton Optronics has such a strong
investment syndicate behind us,'' said Chuni Ghosh, founder and president of Princeton Optronics. He says of the
introduction of PowerSweep 2000, that this is "the quintessential tunable laser," addressing high power, broad
tuning, integrated wavelength stability and several additional customer requirements, and that the basis is low cost
VCSEL and MEMs combined technology which enables Princeton Optronics to meet both the performance and cost
objectives of today's optical networking equipment providers. Princeton Optronics originated in 1993 as founder
Chuni Ghosh departed Sarnoff in pursuit of entrepreneurial ambitions. It was originally called PES which initially
established its roots in RF-microwave engineering through the commercial development of its Voltage Controlled
Oscillator (VCO) and Synthesizer product lines, working closely with various US government agencies. The
company was renamed Princeton Optronics in 2000 to reflect its core contributions in optical component
technology. |
