WRT (With Respect To) Technology

Luminus Devices, on March 17, announced that they have raised $72 Million in a new round of financing. The Luminus press release states: “The investor syndicate was led by Boston-based Braemar Energy Ventures and included a number of other funds, notably San Francisco-based CMEA Ventures and Washington, D.C.-based Paladin Capital Group, which are similarly focused on energy and environmentally friendly technologies. In addition, all of Luminus’ previous investors participated in the financing.”

Luminus has marketed their PhlatLight^® light emitting diodes (LEDs) primarily as a long-lived replacement for projection display lamps, and as a “greener,” mercury free and more efficient, backlight for liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and televisions. In announcing the recent added investment, Luminus has signaled that they will now also be targeting the general illumination market for efficient solid state lighting.

As we have discussed previously, LEDs for solid state lighting with efficacies greater than current fluorescent lighting are now being reported and will soon reach market. Some solid state lighting startups (e.g. Color Kinetics) have already reached the IPO stage, and some of the large lighting players including Philips have already begun acquiring smaller promising solid state lighting firms (Color Kinetics, Lumileds).

We expect additional startup funding as well as further acquisition activity in the solid state lighting space. The substantial new funding just received by Luminus brings the total VC investment in the company to $139 Million to date and brings attention to the question of a profitable exit strategy. As we watch the development of the solid state lighting industry, we expect to identify several good opportunities for investment as the industry unfolds.