Pacific Light Technologies working from the Portland State University Business Accelerator, has landed a $3 million venture capital round led by local investor groups.
The company has closed $2 million of the Series A round led by the Oregon Angel Fund and Portland-based venture capital firm Pivotal Investments. CEO Ron Nelson, who also contributed to the round, said another $1 million has been committed and should close by the end of July.
The 13-person company is developing a technology which will allow manufacturers of long-lasting LED bulb lights to provide better light output while slashing the cost potentially by more than half.
The funding round will be used to continue development. The company expects to return to the market later this year for a Series B round of between $4 million and $8 million, which would help build a sales team and gear up for manufacturing, which Nelson said could start sometime in the second half of 2013.
Pacific Light’s technology, though, promises to narrow the gap for LEDs, with Nelson saying prices per bulb could drop to around $10.
LEDs emit high-intensity blue energy that, when emitted through various colored phosphors, converts to the warmer hues typical of home or office use. Pacific Light aims to replace the use of those phosphors with “quantum dots” — chemically created microscopic semiconductors that Nelson says provide stronger output that is tuneable to different hues.
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