Aledia, a developer of LEDs-based on disruptive microwire GaN-on-Silicon technology, announced today that it has made its first LEDs on 8-inch (200mm) silicon wafers. The cost of Aledia’s LED 3D chips based on microwires is expected to be four times less than traditional planar (2D) LEDs. Additionally, Aledia announced its first-round financing totalling €10 million, or approximately $13M, with leading US and European investors, which was closed in 2012.
Aledia solves the important cost issue in the very large and growing LED market. The continued integration of LEDs into new applications, such as general lighting, depends on LEDs becoming available at substantially lower prices than today. Aledia’s microwire technology enables the steep cost reduction that is vital for the further transition to LED. The Aledia LED technology, made on large-size silicon wafers and with very low materials cost, represents a cost-disruptive solution to this problem. Furthermore the new LED technology is compatible with silicon CMOS technology and will be manufactured directly in existing high-volume silicon foundries.
“Since our financing last year, we have scaled up our microwire manufacturing process and transferred it to 8-inch (200mm) silicon wafers. We can now push forward to optimize the performance of these products and bring them to market,” indicated Giorgio Anania, Aledia co-founder, President and CEO.
Investors in Aledia’s first-round financing included Sofinnova Partners, a leading European venture capital fund and an active investor in energy; New-York based Braemar Energy Ventures, a leading US energy technology investor with various investments in the LED and illumination area; Demeter Partners, the largest France-based cleantech investor; and CEA Investissement, the venture capital arm of CEA, France’s Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives.
“This is an innovative technology that can have a disruptive effect on the LED market,” said Jiong Ma, partner at Braemar Energy Ventures. “Braemar is committed to investing in companies like Aledia that have developed a breakthrough approach to LED lighting to accommodate a rapidly changing market. We are excited about the future opportunities this investment will bring and the expansion of Aledia’s market presence and product offerings.”
“We are proud to participate in the new venture of Giorgio Anania, a successful entrepreneur already well known to Sofinnova, and of an outstanding technical team, that could revolutionize the large and growing LED market, both in cost and performance,” added Alessio Beverina of Sofinnova Partners.
“We believe that the development of LED lighting is an important element of energy-efficiency in our economies – lighting representing approximately 20% of all electricity usage. A technology able to make a significant breakthrough in the cost-effectiveness of using LEDs and thereby accelerate their adoption will have a major environmental and financial impact,” concluded Sophie Paturle, partner at cleantech specialist Demeter Partners.
The 3D GaN-on-Silicon microwire technology was developed over a six year period at the LETI-CEA in Grenoble, France. As part of its spin-out from CEA, Aledia received exclusive worldwide rights to all present and future CEA patents on microwire technology as applied to the area of lighting. Several additional patents have already been filed directly by Aledia.
