August 17, 2005 Louisville, CO -- Picolight, a designer and manufacturer of optical transceivers and components, announced today that it has completed a $27.5 million funding effort, with the addition of $14.5 million in a combination of new equity investment and debt financing. Investor Growth Capital, a new investor, completed the second round closing with a $7 million equity investment, and was joined by ORIX Venture Finance, LLC, which provided an additional $7.5 million in debt financing.
Investor Growth Capital joins previous investors BA Venture Partners, Vesbridge Partners, and Coral Capital Management, who collectively invested $13 million in first round funding.
Picolight says it will use the latest round of investment to expand its operations, scale its manufacturing process to meet growing customer demand, and extend its 1310-nm vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) products from 4-Gbit fibre channel to 10 Gigabit Ethernet at long-reach over singlemode fiber. The company says its revenues and bookings for the past 12 months doubled year-over-year, as it continued to strengthen its product offering and expand its customer base.
"The completion of this funding round, combined with our increased sales performance, positions us to invest in new technologies to meet the needs of our growing customer base," comments Steve Hane, Picolight's president and CEO. "This funding round will take us well past our financial break-even goal."
"Picolight has demonstrated strong momentum with increased revenues and customer traction, and is a proven market leader in VCSEL technology and data communications applications for enterprise, storage area, and metro area networks," adds Albert Kim of Investor Growth Capital. "Picolight's VCSEL technology expertise and product development in the optical marketplace are key attributes that will help drive the company's continued success, and we are enthusiastic about its future prospects."
As a result of the investment, Kim has joined Picolight's board of directors.