Category: Investment/Entrepreneuring

Two items join the drumbeat of coverage on the increasing interest by investors and venture capital firms in nanotechnology.

The first, from Small Times, covers a report issued by investment brokerage firm Merrill Lynch to its clients ("Merrill Lynch report bullish on nanotech as an investment", by Jeff Karoub, 7 September 2001). The report follows in the wake of a number of similar investment-oriented analyses of nanotechnology that have been issued in recent months.

A second report, from Tornado Insider ("Small is Big", by Alan R. Katz, 31 August 2001) provides a European perspective.

from the nanobusiness dept.
Advances in nanoscience research and development are spurring intense interest among investors and corporations, but many are also wary of "nano-hype" in the wake of the dot-com meltdown. An article describing these mixed views appeared in Red Herring magazine ("Nano a nano", S. Herrera, 31 August 2001). The article also describes the efforts of Mark Modzelewski in creating the NanoBusiness Alliance, an international nanotechnology trade association to lobby congress, commission white papers, and conduct symposia. Similar coverage appeared in The Boston Globe ("Nanotechnology emerges as the next new frontier", by Beth Healy, 3 September 2001

The first symposium sponsored by the NanoBusiness Alliance will be held in New York City on 3 October 2001, and will bring together researchers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, policy makers, journalists and the public at large to examine the emerging ìbusinessî of nanotechnology.

from the pay-per-view dept.
Lux Capital, a venture capital firm based in New York, has released "The Nanotech Report," a 269-page overview of the field. The report provides a conceptual framework for understanding nanotechnology and its implications for business, including both startups and established firms, and focuses on near term prospects. The lead author was IMM Senior Associate Josh Wolfe, one of the founding partners in Lux Capital.
Additional information about the report can be found in an article from the Wall Street Journal ("Investors Should Eye How Feds, Researchers Handle 'Nanotechnology' " by D. Hamilton, 27 August 2001), as well as an article from the Small Times website ("New VC firmís report outlines nano challenges, opportunities", by T.Henderson, 29 August 2001) and a profile of Wolfe.
Apparently based on the principle that you must be able to spend money to make money, the report is currently available only to the investment community and sells for $4,750.

from the dollars-and-sense dept.
Two recent articles point out the growing interest among venture capitalists and other investors in the potential of nanotechnology:
The views of venture capitalist (and Foresight Senior Associate) Steve Jurvetson and associate Warren Packard on nanotechnology are profiled in the San Francisco Business Times ("Jurvetson pins big hopes on tiny nanomachines", by M. Calvey, 13 July 2001). The article quotes Jurvetson: "We are entering an era of exponential growth in our capabilities in biotech, molecular engineering and computing . . . The cross-fertilization of these formerly discrete domains compounds our rate of learning and our engineering capabilities." Jurvetson also had an article on nanotechnology in Red Herring Magazine in June 2001.
An article by Jayne Fried at the Small Times website ("Venture capitalists listen, learn as scientists discuss nanobiotech", 17 July 2001) discusses interest expressed by potential investors at a recent conference on nanobiotechnology.

from the boom-or-bust? dept.
An article in the UK-based magazine The Economist ("The smaller the better", 21 June 2001) tries to answer a few questions for potential investors: "After the dotcom bust and the fibre-optics glut, nanotechnology has suddenly become the refuge of choice for technologically obsessed investors. But why ìnanoîóand what is it, anyway?"

The article covers a broad range of ideas, but focuses on short-term nanoscale bulk items like nanoparticles, but also mentions micro- and nano-electronics. The piece concludes: "The danger is that the investment firmsí expectations could run too far ahead of nanotechnologyís ability to deliver. Whether investors have the patience to hang around for the pay-off is the big question."

from the World-Watch dept.
According to a Reuters report on the Japan Today website, two of Japanís largest industrial firms plan to make major investments in nanotechnology research and development. The report says Mitsui has announced it would set up three units for nanotechnology research and development and invest 10 billion yen ($US 81.40 million) over the next five years in mass production of miniature products. And Mitsubishi Corp. said it would set up a $100 million venture capital fund in August, with a view to investing up to $10 million in individual nanotech companies specializing in information devices and medical technology. According to the report, the Mitsubishi Research Institute estimates the Japanese market for nanotechnology-based goods at 19 trillion yen (about $US 154 billion) in 2010.

from the information-investment dept.
Venture capitalist and Foresight Senior Associate Steve Jurvetson has an article in Red Herring ("From the ground floor: The business paths to nanotech", 15 June 2001) that points out the importance of manipulating information in the development of practical nanotechnology applications, whether they occur via biological or microtechnology pathways. Jurvetson concludes, "With replicating molecular machines, physical production itself migrates to the rapid innovation cycle of information technology. Matter becomes code."

Jurvetson will be participating in a special panel on venture capital and nanotechnology at the Ninth Foresight Conference in November 2001.

from the blind-men-and-an-elephant dept.
A recent article from United Press International ("Investors weigh merits of nanotech", 11 May 2001) reveals that investors are still uncertain about nanotechnology, largely because it is an ill-defined new field. According to the article, investment experts say gauging the level of private investment in nanotechnologies is nearly impossible because no industry statistics are available and because of disagreements over what nanotechnology means.

The article quotes Foresight Senior Associate Steven Vetter, CEO of Molecular Manufacturing Enterprises Inc., a seed capital firm in St. Paul Minnesota: "It's hard to gauge the levels of investment because there is so much confusion over what the term includes . . . What's happened is that the term has become stylish and has been broadened to apply to many more things."

"Nanoscience is a more appropriate term at this stage than nanotechnology," said Josh Wolfe of Lux Capital, an investment firm in New York City.

And even though IMM Research Fellow and Foresight founder Eric Drexler has played a pivotal role in the development of the field, we have to point out that the articleís characterization of Eric as "the world's leading authority on nanoscience" is a bit of an exaggeration!