Category: Investment/Entrepreneuring

from the name-to-live-up-to dept.
eeex brings to our attention the Nanomechanical Research and Development Center opened in Quebec by NanoWorld Projects Corporation. Staffed by 15 researchers, they plan to commercialize applications of their self-assembling monolayer technology. The company website points out that "We are not at the point of creating some of the fantastic nano-machines that some enthusiasts see as an eventual result of monolayer research. But there are other technological applications of monolayer technologies that seem within our grasp or just around the corner." CP: The enthusiasts cited may be confused; I haven't heard of a monolayer pathway to nanomachines. Also: how are these monolayers "nanomechanical", anyone have thoughts on this?

from the MSNBC-prefers-"subatomic"-tech dept.
From an MSNBC news story on new HP leader Carly Fiorina: The high-level patronage has reinvigorated morale throughout the labs. Until Ms. Fiorina arrived, Stan Williams, a researcher in nanotechnology, the science of manipulating atomic structures, had planned to move his lab to Agilent Technologies Inc., a test-and-measurement company spun off from H-P earlier this year. Now, H-P is building a new multimillion-dollar nanofabrication facility. It may not generate commercially useful work for years, but the investment could help H-P retain researchers in a field that one day could allow more powerful silicon chips to be ìgrownî by means of subatomic chemistry and physics, rather than manufactured in complex factories.
We assume the "subatomic" term came from MSNBC, not HP. Stan is a finalist for this year's Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology.

from the from-acorns-large-oaks-will-grow-by-self-assembly dept.
Senior Associate StevenVetter is quoted in this piece from the Seattle-area Eastside Journal: "Where the real progress is made is when you get the people that can bridge the gap [among disciplines],'' said Steven Vetter, president and CEO of St. Paul, Minn.-based Molecular Manufacturing Enterprises Inc. Molecular Manufacturing Enterprises Inc., a firm that invests in nanotechnology companies…Vetter of Molecular Manufacturing is on the front line of commercialization. The company provides seed funding for nanotechnology projects. With assets of $1 million, Molecular Manufacturing has funded a few undisclosed ventures that are still considered too high-risk for venture capitalists. The returns on investing in nanotech are 10 or 20 years away, which is why backers have shied away. With the National Nanotechnology Initiative, however, and universities and other research organizations putting up matching funds, “traditional money is getting more interested,'' Vetter said. The piece also quotes Foresight advisor Ralph Merkle, and, er, me.

from the race-is-on dept.
Senior Associate Tom Glass points out an article from the Houston Chronicle about the nanotechnology work of Jim Tour. and Mark Reed in their startup Molecular Electronics Corp: The fact that the company has been able to raise venture capital is also a significant milestone, says Dan Hutchison, president of VLSI Research, a microchip industry research firm. "In the past, there's been nothing interesting going on, like someone getting venture funding," Hutchison says. "But if a company has actually managed to get VCs interested, that's different. They may not be entirely sure of the technology, but they're willing to bet on the people involved." More URLs in the sidebar. Here's an earlier New York Times article on the company.

from the nanogossip dept.
UpsideToday, the online Upside magazine, includes a long, detailed story by editor-in-chief Jerry Borrell on "16 hours in the life of Zyvex". Sounds like he was impressed with this company founded by Senior Associate Jim Von Ehr: It is, in fact, in this very field, according to Skidmore, that Zyvex is making stunning advances with four patents filed and three more in the works, some relating to the Zyvex "Rotapod," a technology and technique for the creation of self-assembling nanomachines. And although "machine" is a very sophisticated word to describe the relatively crude devices that Zyvex is developing at present, the analogy is apt. We've just had an inside presentation. I'm breathless. I had no idea the company was so far along…Something subliminal tells me that these scientists are beginning to get results that will allow one to see that they can do more than just contribute to general research. I speculate as to whether this company could be the kind of place that, years from now, hosts Nobel laureates.

from the where-am-I?-oh-yeah dept.
Senior Associate GinaMiller brings to our attention the firm Nanowave, which aims to help make nanomanufacturing become practical by commercializing nanopositioning. It's true: if you want to build at the nanometer level, you need to know where the heck you are, exactly. See the startup's classic history in Mass High Tech.

from the here-comes-the-money dept.
The cover story of July/August Worth magazine is on Senior Associate Steve Jurvetson of VC firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson: "Jurvetson's thoughts go beyond the Internet, as far afield as the potentially even more disruptive world of nanotechnology…there will be nanobots that navigate the bloodstream to repair the body, he says, and much, much later, nano-powered chips with such speed that a computer could practically think like a human being…But where Joy foresees peril, Jurvetson joyfully foresees opportunity. At the last retreat of the Foresight Institute–which Jurvetson likened to a 'brain spa'–he received his first two business plans for nanotech start-ups…" Jurvetson is quoted: "It's starting to happen!"