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Strategies & Market Trends : Gorilla and King Portfolio Candidates -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JDN who wrote (15374)	1/17/2000 6:43:00 AM
From: unclewest	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 54805

I have been following your posts about CREE and LED devices. I am surprised that nowhere has the name Microvision (MVIS)popped up. I think the two companies (CREE and MVIS) have some type of business arrangement going. Has anyone run across this and what is the involvement? JDN SEATTLE, May 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Microvision, Inc. (Nasdaq: MVIS, MVISW), the developer of Virtual Retinal Display(TM) (VRD(TM)) technology has formed a strategic partnering arrangement with Cree Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE), the world leader in the development and manufacture of semiconductor materials and electronic devices made from silicon carbide (SiC). Under the terms of the arrangement Cree has made a $4.5 million equity investment in Microvision, purchasing common stock at $16.75 per share. Microvision has entered into a $2.6 million development contract with Cree to accelerate development of semiconductor light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and laser diodes for application in Microvision's display and imaging products. The program will be focused on the development of blue and green laser diodes and edge-emitting light-emitting diodes that are suitable for Microvision's scanned-beam display systems. Microvision will gain exclusive access to component technology developed in the program for "scanned-beam display" applications for three years following completion of the initial development contract. Because semiconductor light sources are microminiature (about the size of a grain of salt), highly-efficient and very affordable, they offer the potential to enable very compact, low-cost implementations of the company's proprietary Virtual Retinal Display technology. Target applications for the LED-based microdisplays would include information displays for next- generation mobile phones and pagers, viewfinders for digital cameras, and wearable display peripherals for personal computers and interactive computer games. Blue and green semiconductor laser diodes would be used in a variety of military and professional applications that require higher display luminance. The agreement follows Microvision's announcement in November, 1998, of a significant breakthrough by Cree in the development of high intensity blue and green light-emitting diodes. Historically, the brightness of off- the-shelf LEDs had been inadequate for scanned display applications. That development was a major milestone that set the stage for the development of low-cost, high performance micro displays. Rick Rutkowski, President and CEO of Microvision said, "We're delighted to have Cree as a new shareholder and strategic partner. Cree's technological advancements in SiC LEDs and lasers when combined with Microvision's proprietary optical scanning technology will enable powerful solutions to meet the growing demand for a variety of new display and imaging products. We have worked closely with Cree during the last year and achieved some important advances in light source technology. The successful lab demonstration of Cree's high intensity blue and green LEDs during the fourth quarter of 1998, was a major milestone that gave Microvision the confidence needed to pursue this development more aggressively. The partnership with Cree gives Microvision a proprietary position in a key enabling component technology and further consolidates our position as the world's leading innovator of scanned display systems. Microvision has aligned itself with an aggressive partner who has emerged rapidly as a technology leader and as a market share leader in Nitride LED devices. We believe we've made a powerful technology and business combination." Neal Hunter, Cree's Chairman and CEO stated, "We are excited about this strategic alliance. Microvision's groundbreaking approach to scanning displays opens significant new market and product opportunities for Cree in areas that leverage and build on our core expertise and current development initiatives in semiconductor diode technology. We're pleased to be an investor and a partner with Microvision: a company that has some of the most exciting and innovative technology in the optoelectronics industry." Microvision, Inc., headquartered in Seattle, is the developer of the patented Virtual Retinal Display technology that rapidly scans a beam of light into the eye, allowing the viewer to see large, full-motion images without the need for a conventional display screen. Microvision's objective is to be a leading provider of personal display products and imaging technology in a broad range of military, medical, industrial, professional and consumer applications. The company was founded in 1993. Additional information can be found at the company's website at: mvis.com. North Carolina based Cree Research, Inc. is the world leader in developing and manufacturing semiconductor materials and electronic devices made from silicon carbide. The company uses proprietary technology to make enabling compound semiconductors such as blue and green LEDs, SiC crystals used in the production of unique gemstones and SiC wafers that are sold for research. Cree has new product initiatives based on its expertise in SiC, including microwave transistors for use in wireless base stations and radar, blue laser diodes for optical storage applications and high power devices for power conditioning and switching. For more information on Cree visit cree.com.

To: JDN who wrote (15374)	1/17/2000 10:06:00 PM
From: daffydog	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 54805

JDN, I'm 94 posts behind, but I mentioned MVIS on December 27: Message 12392185 This generated no perceptible interest on this thread, and as I said, this is a zygote gorilla at best at this point. These guys have an absolutely amazing technology that has not crossed the chasm, but if it does, watch out, because everyone in the world will want of these things on their cell phone, and the tornado will knock down everything in its path. MGG