News
Lyon, June 30 th, 2004
NIF Ventures acquires a stake in Varioptic S.A.
Varioptic S.A., the Lyon based company, inventor of the Tunable Liquid
Lenses, and NIF Ventures Co (Japan) have signed an agreement whereby NIF
Ventures acquires a stake in Varioptic S.A.
Sofinnova Partners and PolyTechnos, who jointly led the last round of
series B financing last March, welcome the arrival of NIF which will further
strenghen Varioptic's financial position and facilitate its entry into
the key optical Japanese market.
Mobile phones are the main market for Varioptic's revolutionary lens.
Currently, you can rarely find a mobile phone with an auto focus camera,
not to mention a zoom feature. But as the quality and the definition of
the pictures are evolving rapidly, the trend is to switch from VGA sensors
(640 pixels wide by 480 pixels tall) to mega pixels sensors (more than
1200 pixels wide). Auto focus is becoming a necessity and is hardly implementable
by using conventional technologies. Varioptic's patented Liquid Lens is
a key technology to bring auto focus and then zoom to mobile phones, with
huge advantages in terms of dimensions, cost, and power comsumption.
"This is a key milestone for Varioptic. The confidence expressed
by NIF validates our strategy to deliver innovative products based on
our patented electrowetting technology. We will use the resources to further
develop Varioptic in Japan, the largest and most innovative market for
optical devices," said Etienne Paillard, CEO.
Takashi Hondo, Investment Manager at NIF, added, "We strongly believe
that Varioptic's technology is a breakthrough which has a tremendous potential
in all optical applications, and especially in camera modules used in
cellular phones. We are pleased to expand our portfolio of European companies
with such a high potential start-up".
About NIF Ventures Co.
NIF Ventures is one of the leading venture capital company in Japan, listed
in JASDAQ. It was founded in 1982 and is associated with the Daiwa Securities
Group. NIF Ventures has a portfolio of investments in 35 countries and
about 450 invested companies have achieved successful IPOs. Currently,
the funds under management is about 800 US dollars. In addition to its
network of four branches in Japan, NIF Ventures has offices in Singapore,
California, and is linked with Hotung Venture Capital, a leading Taiwanese
venture capital firm. NIF Ventures has taken balanced investment style
from start-up to later stage and their portfolio including ICT, life science,
manufacturing, service industries and so on.
For further information, please visit the website : www.nif.co.jp
About Varioptic
Founded in 2002, Varioptic pioneers the development of electrowetting
technology for revolutionary auto focus lenses and zooms with absolutely
no moving parts. These products feature several crucial advantages versus
traditional technologies in terms of cost, dimensions, power consumption
and speed. Varioptic maintains its technology leadership thanks to its
heavy investment in R&D. Varioptic is located in Lyon (France) and
headed by Etienne Paillard, CEO and founder, and inventor Bruno Berge
(CTO). For more information, please visit www.varioptic.com.
About Sofinnova Partners
Founded in Paris in 1972, Sofinnova Partners is one of Europe's leading
independent venture capital firms. With EUR 500 million under management,
Sofinnova Partners invests in start-ups and early-stage companies in information
technology and life sciences. Its investment strategy is based on two
principles: Investing early in projects with a high potential; and acting
as lead or co-lead investor. Sofinnova's investment team consists of 10
professionals, all recognized experts in their field, who bring valuable
market insight and technical expertise to Sofinnova's portfolio companies.
Since the firm is increasingly solicited for financing pan-European projects,
half of Sofinnova's most recent fund, Sofinnova Capital IV, will be invested
outside France. For more information, please visit www.sofinnova.fr.
About PolyTechnos Venture-Partners
PolyTechnos Venture-Partners is an independent European venture capital
firm focusing on early to expansion stage, technology and life science
investments predominantly in German-speaking Europe. Areas of expertise
comprise Information Technology & Communications, Industrial &
Engineering, Energy, Drug Development, Diagnostics & MedTech, and
the respective interfaces. PolyTechnos helps companies turn technology
into business by providing support in areas such as strategy, business
development, and organisation building. PolyTechnos, located in Munich,
Germany, was founded in 1998 and currently advises funds totalling approximately
EUR 200 million. For more information, please visit www.polytechnos.com.
Contact:
Isabelle Jourdain
Communication Manager
Varioptic S.A.
3, Allée Pierre de Coubertin , 69007 Lyon, France
Tel.: +33 (0) 6 87 71 20 95
E-Mail: [email protected]
Web: www.varioptic.com
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