Following up Intel Corp.'s exploitation of the synergies between semiconductor manufacturing and photovoltaic cell production with the spinoff and $50 million Intel Capital-led investment in Spectrawatt Inc. last month, the venture capital arm of the chip giant has just taken a $12.5 million investment in longtime semiconductor industry vendor Voltaix Inc.
Voltaix has been around for more than 20 years and makes electronic chemicals and gases used in semiconductor manufacturing processes. In recent years, the company has focused squarely on developing new processes and materials for solar materials.
Intel Capital's Sean Doyle says the company's investment is premised on opportunity for strong growth in both areas and follows on the success of recent materials investments, including Japanese technology developer Tri Chemical Laboratories, which went public a year ago, and U.K.-based Epichem Group Ltd., which was sold to Sigma-Aldrich Corp. in February.
Intel is the sole investor in the Voltaix round, the first outside equity the company has taken since its founding in 1986. Doyle say Voltaix has had strong financial growth in recent years, but that new investment will allow it to accelerate its expansion.
"The nice thing about this company is that they are not just in ICs, but are really moving into photovoltaics," Doyle says. "They have a great track record in ICs and are building a record in photovoltaics, and a lot of their expertise is in synthesis of chemicals and gases that are not only enabling technologies, but are proprietary materials." - Clifford Carlsen
See July 29 press release from Voltaix Inc.
See June 16 press release from Intel Capital
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