Dave Savastano07.27.09
Blue Spark Technologies, Inc., the leading designer and manufacturer of thin, flexible, green printed batteries for industry, recently announced that the company has completed its first closing on a planned $5 million round of Series B funding.This initial investment will be used to support the ramp-up of Blue Spark’s 1.5V carbon-zinc battery production for large volumes of battery assisted passive RFID implementations scheduled to ship starting in the fourth quarter of 2009. Funding sources include existing Blue Spark investors Early Stage Partners and SunBridge Partners, as well as several additional private investors.
According to Blue Spark president and CEO Gary R. Johnson, “The development of a new integrated circuit designed to support UHF Gen2 battery assisted passive RFID, from Swiss semiconductor manufacturer EM Microelectronic, is a game changer for RFID.Systems integrators and end users have now become aware of a number of high-value applications for which passive UHF did not provide adequate read range or reliability, and active RFID was simply too expensive.
“With battery assisted operation, the performance of UHF RFID dramatically improves, while the cost remains a small fraction of active,” Johnson continues. “We are confident that the new price/performance point for battery assisted RFID will lead to numerous high-volume users.We are especially pleased to see the demand for our batteries take off as initial battery assisted passive projects move from development into production later this year.”Johnson was interviewed this week by CNBC’s “The Tech Effect” for his comments on the impact of flexible batteries on various markets including RFID.
According to Jim Petras, managing director of Early Stage Partners: “We are excited to be able to continue to support Blue Spark by participating in this series B round of funding.Blue Spark is the leading provider of printed power solutions, and our support will enable them to meet their goal of ramping to high volume manufacturing in the 4th quarter of this year.”
John Gannon, general partner at SunBridge Partners, adds: “As the lead investor in Blue Spark’s series A round, we were confident in Blue Spark’s ability to deliver world class technology through an effective management team.Our participation in this series B round underscores our assurance, and will enable them to expand their personnel in support of their build to revenue later this year.”
Blue Spark’s has closed on $1.5 million in this $5 million round which will enable them to kick off their continued growth activities while providing working capital to support their sales ramp.Blue Spark is working with institutional investors to close out the remaining $3.5 million in this round.
According to Blue Spark president and CEO Gary R. Johnson, “The development of a new integrated circuit designed to support UHF Gen2 battery assisted passive RFID, from Swiss semiconductor manufacturer EM Microelectronic, is a game changer for RFID.Systems integrators and end users have now become aware of a number of high-value applications for which passive UHF did not provide adequate read range or reliability, and active RFID was simply too expensive.
“With battery assisted operation, the performance of UHF RFID dramatically improves, while the cost remains a small fraction of active,” Johnson continues. “We are confident that the new price/performance point for battery assisted RFID will lead to numerous high-volume users.We are especially pleased to see the demand for our batteries take off as initial battery assisted passive projects move from development into production later this year.”Johnson was interviewed this week by CNBC’s “The Tech Effect” for his comments on the impact of flexible batteries on various markets including RFID.
According to Jim Petras, managing director of Early Stage Partners: “We are excited to be able to continue to support Blue Spark by participating in this series B round of funding.Blue Spark is the leading provider of printed power solutions, and our support will enable them to meet their goal of ramping to high volume manufacturing in the 4th quarter of this year.”
John Gannon, general partner at SunBridge Partners, adds: “As the lead investor in Blue Spark’s series A round, we were confident in Blue Spark’s ability to deliver world class technology through an effective management team.Our participation in this series B round underscores our assurance, and will enable them to expand their personnel in support of their build to revenue later this year.”
Blue Spark’s has closed on $1.5 million in this $5 million round which will enable them to kick off their continued growth activities while providing working capital to support their sales ramp.Blue Spark is working with institutional investors to close out the remaining $3.5 million in this round.