April 8, 2005 Boulder, CO -- Picolight, a designer and manufacturer of optical transceivers and components, has raised $13 million in its latest funding round. Coral Capital Management led the round, joining previous investors BA Venture Partners and Vesbridge Partners to complete the new financing. The company says it seeks to close another $4 million to $7 million in funding during the second quarter of 2005 for various product expansion activities.
"This funding round validates the tremendous progress we made through the second half of 2004 and into the first quarter of 2005, and will help us commence volume shipments of 1310nm VCSEL-based products," remarks Steve Hane, Picolight's president and CEO.
"Picolight has maintained significant advantages in terms of new and existing 850nm VCSEL based products, ownership of the key sub-components, a strong patent portfolio of VCSEL technology, and 1310nm VCSEL technology leadership in enterprise, storage area, and metro area networks," adds Todd Ortberg, managing director of Coral Capital Management, who also joins PicoLight's board of directors as a result of the investment.
"Looking ahead to 2005 and beyond, the growth in the optical communications market will continue at a double-digit rate, and Picolight is well-positioned to take advantage of these expanding market opportunities," says Jagdish Rebello, an industry analyst with market research firm iSuppli Corporation.
The company has raised $90 million in prior capital, with the most recent round raised at a significant increase in valuation from the prior round, according to a press release. According to the release, the company's revenue has increased more than 125% from Q1 2004 to Q1 2005, driven by increased demand for Internet protocol (IP)-driven applications in the 10-Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) and parallel-optics markets.
"The combination of this capital commitment, steadily improving market conditions, and our growing customer traction across multiple product lines positions us to execute the focused growth plan we put into place during the second half of 2004," concludes Hane. "Our goal is to achieve profitability by the end of 2005."