Category: Investment/Entrepreneuring

from the jostling-for-nano-position dept.
An article in the San Francisco Chronicle (Dec. 7) reports that Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, a nonpartisan public policy group, is advising Silicon Valley to prepare for the next boom, described as being based on biotech, infotech, and of course nanotech. "Nanotechnology, the development of ultra-small mechanical components is another research area poised to take off. But Silicon Valley is competing with such places as Boston and San Diego to establish itself as the commercial center for these emerging technologies." The "mechanical" slant here reflects Foresight's main interest area of molecular manufacturing, as opposed to the mainstream which currently focuses more on nanoelectronics.

from the advice-on-your-money dept.
Evolution Capital Ltd, a "technology-focussed investment bank based in London", has published a 28-page Executive Summary of their 300-page report "Nanotechnology: Commercial Opportunity" to be published in full later this month (Nov. 2001). Excerpts: "Nanotechnology, unlike other enabling technologies, has the potential to impact on all industrial sectors…The promise of quantum computing, nanoelectronics, bottom-up Nanofabrication and Nano Electro Mechanical Systems (NEMS) may become commercial realities within 20 years." Nothing on their website about the report that I could find.

According to a press release (14 November 2001), the partners in the Texas Nanotechnology Initiative (TNI) will host a conference on "NanoVentures 2002: the path to the commercialization of nanotechnology" from 6 to 8 March 2002. The conference will provide two full days of speakers and panels focusing on the current state of nanotechnology and related opportunities for investment.

TNI and its co-hosts, Austin Ventures, STARTech Foundation, and Vortex Partners, and conference partners Jackson Walker, L.L.P. and Zyvex Corporation will present sessions on the areas of Molecular Electronics, Materials, Optical/Wireless, NanoStorage, Biotech, and Fabrication and Assembly. In addition to members of the venture finance community, participants will include technology companies, lawyers, and government and university representatives specializing in nanotechnology ventures. The conference will also introduce attendees to a network of service providers and investors who are currently working in nanotechnology.

from the Discount-for-Senior-Associates dept.
CMP Cientifica (based in Spain) and nABUCUS (based in Hong Kong), two nanotechnology-oriented consulting and investment firms, along with the U.S. public relations firm of Niehaus Ryan Wong, have teamed up to prepare the Nanotechnology Opportunities Report (NOR), which is due to be released some time early next year. They have released a free preliminary white paper that aims to "give a comprehensive introduction to the wide variety of technologies that fall under the nanotech umbrella, and to present this in a manner that gives a sense of the areas of our world, and thus the markets, that will be impacted, and when."

As with most of these ìinvestment opportunityî reports, none of the material in the NOR preview white paper is particularly new or unique. However it does provide a succinct basic explanation of the developing excitement in the field for newcomers, and has a more international viewpoint than some of the reports issued by U.S.-based firms. The paper is available as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file (about 1.4 MB) at the website of any of the three firms:

• www.cmp-cientifica.com (Europe)
• www.nrwpr.com (Americas) and
• www.nabacus.com (Asia)

The NOR white paper follows in the wake of a number of similar reports that were released in August and September 2001 (reported here on 3 August, 30 August, and 9 October 2001). The full Nanotechnology Opportunity Report will be available for purchase in January 2002 at a cost of US$1995.

UPDATE: Foresight Senior Associates, and attendees of this week's Ninth Foresight Conference, can get a discount of $200 on the pre-publication price of $1695 on advance orders for the NOR. This offer is good until 30 November 2001. These advance orders should be placed through Foresight, either online (secure web form), or through our office, to get the $200 discount. Contact information for the Foresight office.

According to a press release on 10 September 2001, Lux Capital, a venture capital firm based in New York with a strong emphasis on nanotechnology, and McGovern Capital LLC have partnered to form Angstrom Partners LLC, a merchant bank providing intellectual property, corporate advisory and investment banking services to clients in the emerging nanotechnology industry. Angstrom Partners was formed as a Joint Venture between Lux Capital and McGovern Capital, a Greenwich and New York-based investment firm focused on capital formation, strategic transactions and alliances, and intellectual property.

Lux also released a major investor-oriented report on nanotechnology in August 2001.