STATE COLLEGE, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–May 27, 2003–HyperNex, Inc. today announced the completion of a $2.5 million venture capital funding round, led by Draper Triangle Ventures with new investmentsfrom CID Equity Partners and Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Existing investors, Staley Capital Partners and ATMI, also participated in the round.
HyperNex manufactures and develops production inspection equipment based on rapid x-ray diffraction techniques. The HyperNex CuTex300 integrated metrology platform gives semiconductor manufacturers the ability to measure quantitative crystallographic microstructure properties such as phase percent and grain orientation orders of magnitude faster than current systems.
HyperNex’s President and CEO, Dave Kurtz, notes that this tool has generated significant interest among leading semiconductor manufacturers who believe that the added measurement capability will significantly improve fabrication yields.
Warren Packard, Managing Director at Draper Fisher Jurvetson comments, “DFJ looks for companies that are changing paradigms and operating ahead of the curve. Hypernex technology represents a leap forward in semiconductor metrology. Manufacturers are now beginning to understand that maintaining the proper crystallographic microstructure of barrier and metallization layers correlates directly to increased yield and device performance, both of which impact their bottom line. We feel that this value proposition will result in an attractive and growing market that Hypernex will address successfully over the coming years.”
CID Equity Partners’ Bob O’Brien adds “Hypernex fits CID’s investment strategy of supporting strong early stage companies during the development and commercialization of their technologies. HyperNex has taken a significant step forward in the use of x-ray technology for real time measurement and analysis in the production environment. We view the HyperNex technology as a remedy to address significant problems in the materials evolution of manufacturing.”
Draper Triangle Ventures is the Pennsylvania-based fund of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, the leader in start-up venture capital, having invested in over 400 technology companies. Draper Triangle Ventures provides early and seed stage investments to technology businesses with enormous market potential. The Draper Fisher Jurvetson group of funds has seen over 20 of its companies complete an IPO, and has seen successful sales of the same number of companies to the likes of Microsoft, Yahoo, Cisco, America Online, Amazon and many others.
CID Equity Partners, founded in 1981, is a leading provider of private equity and debt financing to high growth companies throughout the Mid-America region. From offices in Indianapolis, Indiana; Chicago, Illinois; and Columbus, Ohio, the firm is actively managing seed, venture and mezzanine capital funds, which together total nearly $400 million. Industries of interest include Information Technology, Life Sciences, Business Services and Manufacturing.
Draper Fisher Jurvetson is a leading information technology venture capital firm. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, Draper Fisher Jurvetson has developed a large network of highly successful information technology portfolio companies. Draper Fisher Jurvetson pursues an early stage approach to venture capital investing, funding entrepreneurs with the energy, vision, experience and desire to build great companies.
