Applied Ventures and Empire State Development Aim to Accelerate Innovation in Upstate New York
November 15 2018 - 2:31PM
Applied Ventures, LLC, the venture capital arm of Applied
Materials, Inc., today announced a new co-investment initiative
with Empire State Development (ESD), New York State’s economic
development organization, aimed at accelerating innovation in
Upstate New York. The goal of the initiative is to invest in
promising Upstate New York startups across a broad range of
established and emerging industries including semiconductors,
artificial intelligence, advanced optics, autonomous vehicles, life
sciences, clean energy and more.
In addition to funding, startups and early-stage companies will
be able to benefit from Applied Materials’ expanded capabilities in
advanced materials-based R&D, process technologies, device
prototyping and pilot-scale production at its forthcoming Materials
Engineering Technology Accelerator (META Center) to be located on
the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly)
campus in Albany, also announced today. The new co-investment
initiative and plans for the META Center are part of Applied’s
strategy to increase collaboration and accelerate innovation
throughout the technology ecosystem.
“Upstate New York is home to a vibrant technology and academic
ecosystem, with entrepreneurs who are generating new growth
opportunities across many industries,” said Om Nalamasu, President
of Applied Ventures and Chief Technology Officer of Applied
Materials. “We look forward to working with Empire State
Development to identify and nurture startups in this region through
funding and access to Applied’s leading capabilities in materials
engineering.”
“This partnership will foster innovation and strengthen the
Upstate economy by supporting the next generation of promising
entrepreneurs and startups from the Capital Region to Western New
York,” said Howard Zemsky, Empire State Development President, CEO
& Commissioner. “By investing in our talent and leading-edge
research, we are investing in the future of New York State while
spurring new economic activity, jobs and opportunity in our
communities.”
“For more than a decade, Applied Ventures has invested in
over 75 high-tech startups across the world that are pioneering
innovations in smartphones, augmented and virtual reality,
artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, life sciences, 3D
printing, robotics, cleantech, and advanced materials,” said
Rajesh Swaminathan, General Manager of Applied Ventures. “We are
excited to invest in, and partner with, Upstate New York companies
through our new co-investment initiative with Empire State
Development and we also look forward to bringing in companies
located outside New York to work with Applied’s world-class
infrastructure and expertise to be offered at the META Center.”
Applied Materials has had a presence in New York for more than
two decades and Applied Ventures has invested in several startups
in the state, including Lumiode (high-brightness microdisplays) and
Norsk Titanium (additive manufacturing). The co-investment
initiative with Empire State Development is open to startups and
early-stage companies located in Upstate New York and those
interested in working with us in Upstate New York. For more
information please contact applied_ventures@amat.com.
Comments from current Applied Ventures portfolio
companies
“Applied Ventures’ equity investment positions Norsk Titanium
and our disruptive Rapid Plasma Deposition™ capability into the
core of the additive manufacturing revolution,” said Norsk Titanium
Chairman of the Board John Andersen, Jr. “Applied’s extensive
capabilities in materials engineering and process management
complement our unique titanium capabilities as well as our global
expansion into new metal alloys and markets to bring Norsk’s
customers unprecedented levels of productivity.”
“eXo Imaging is developing a portable, low-power medical
ultrasound imager to disrupt the medical ultrasound market,” said
Janusz Bryzek, MEMS industry veteran, serial entrepreneur and
co-founder of eXo Imaging. “Applied Ventures’ support in giving
hardware startups access to Applied’s semiconductor equipment
infrastructure, materials and device know-how is a compelling value
proposition unmatched in the deep-tech ecosystem. Our collaboration
with Applied to develop and scale the critical semiconductor films
enabling the next generation of our devices will help us realize
our vision of providing access to high-quality, affordable,
life-saving technology anywhere.”
“Rockley Photonics is delivering silicon photonics
technology that will enable higher performance sensors, imaging and
communication in smartphones, wearables, autonomous vehicles,
and also in industrial and datacenter applications,” said
Andrew Rickman, CEO of Rockley Photonics and previously founder of
Bookham Technology. “Access to Applied Materials’ equipment
infrastructure and materials engineering expertise is a tremendous
advantage to cutting-edge hardware startups. We are working
with Applied Materials to adapt its high-volume chip manufacturing
technologies for silicon photonics to enable us to bring this
technology to ultra-high volume markets on a global
scale.”
“Solid Energy’s focus is to create world-class high energy
density batteries that can revolutionize transportation, from
drones to cars,” said Qichao Hu, CEO of Solid Energy. “Applied
Materials’ proven expertise in developing novel films and enabling
high-volume manufacturing gives us a strong path to develop and
commercialize a winning product.”
About Applied MaterialsApplied Materials, Inc.
(Nasdaq: AMAT) is the leader in materials engineering solutions
used to produce virtually every new chip and advanced display in
the world. Our expertise in modifying materials at atomic levels
and on an industrial scale enables customers to transform
possibilities into reality. At Applied Materials, our innovations
make possible the technology shaping the future. Learn more at
www.appliedmaterials.com.
About Applied VenturesApplied Ventures, LLC,
the venture capital arm of Applied Materials, invests in
early-stage technology companies that promise to deliver high
growth and exceptional returns. Startups can access new
materials engineering and semiconductor technology innovations, and
leverage our global fab infrastructure to validate high-performance
devices and scale faster. We offer startups atomic-level
engineering capabilities on 200mm/300mm silicon wafers, glass
substrates, and roll-to-roll substrates. Applied Ventures is stage
agnostic and invests up to $50M per year globally. We have
invested in over 75 companies across 13 countries. Learn more
at www.appliedventures.com
Contact:
Applied Materials:
Ricky Gradwohl (editorial/media) +1.408.235.4676Michael Sullivan
(financial community) +1.408.986.7977
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