ThreeFive Photonics starts up with Euro 7 million

Netherlands-based chipmaker ThreeFive Photonics has completed its first round of financing by securing Euro 7 million from venture capital companies Atlas Venture and Gilde IT Fund.

Netherlands-based chipmaker ThreeFive Photonics, developer of breakthrough optoelectronic technology, has completed its first round of financing by securing Euro 7 million from venture capital companies Atlas Venture and Gilde IT Fund.

The company will use the capital for the development of next-generation optical chips, integrating complete network subsystems on a single chip, thus dramatically reducing costs and significantly improving performance of telecommunications systems in use by network operators globally.

"Clearly, we are very pleased with the support of Atlas Venture and Gilde IT Fund, who both are reputable investors in communications technology", says Wouter Deelman, CEO and co-founder of ThreeFive Photonics.

"This will enable us to complete the development of our first chip, codenamed Argo, and to prepare it for production.

We will have a working prototype of Argo by the end of this year.

Production will start in 2002".

ThreeFive Photonics focuses on miniaturising and integrating the functional components and devices that make up today's telecommunication network subsystems.

Realizing this on a large scale will result in a major cost reduction of those subsystems, ultimately leading to fundamentally new network architectures.

ThreeFive Photonics focuses on monolithic integration of optoelectronic components on indium phosphide based materials, using concepts that have been proven on a laboratory scale.

The company now follows a phased development path that will yield a sequence of products of increasing complexity and functionality, culminating in the production of complete network subsystems integrated on a single chip.

In today's market venture capitalists have become much more critical when assessing investment opportunities than in 1999 and 2000.

Seen against this background, the willingness of two leading venture capital organisations to provide a total of Euro 7 million as the first round financing for ThreeFive Photonics expresses their confidence in the strategic direction and potential of the company.

The Board of Directors of ThreeFive Photonics now consists of Dimmes Doornhein (chairman), Anton Arts and Gerry Montanus.

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