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News and Information Article
Objective: to Become the Leader in MRAM
GRENOBLE, France, June 16 // -- Crocus Technology, a company
focusing on Magnetic Random Access Memories (MRAM), today announced the
closing of its Series A round of funding totaling $17 million. The rounds
participants include San Francisco-based Sofinnova Ventures (lead
investor), Paris-based firms Ventech, CDC Entreprises Innovation, AGF
Private Equity and Sofinnova Partners, and NanoDimension. Crocus will
leverage its innovative technology with the goal to become the world leader
in this exciting MRAM market.
Crocus was first incorporated in France in 2004 with an initial grant
from CEA Valorisation and FIST, the subsidiaries of CEA and CNRS, Frances
leading research organizations, dedicated to spinning off promising new
technologies into the private sector. Crocus is headquartered in Grenoble
(France) with operations in the Paris area and in Silicon Valley
(California). The MRAM technology that is the foundation on which Crocus is
built was developed in the Grenoble-based SPINTEC research center. The
related patents and know-how are being transferred to Crocus and will be
continuously improved through formal joint development programs between the
company, Spintec and other European laboratories.
MRAM memories uniquely combine several key features of other existing
memory technologies. They are non-volatile, have a fast read and write
speed, an SRAM like interface, an extended lifetime, and a low
manufacturing cost.
"We are very excited by the tremendous market potential for MRAM
because the mobile and networking industries, among others, need this new
type of memory," said Eric Buatois, Managing Director with Sofinnova
Ventures. "We looked in detail at all other MRAM technologies and always
came back to Crocus. We believe that the company has what it takes to
become the leader in this high growth market: a world-class R&D team, a
strong patent portfolio, and a very experienced management team," Buatois
explained.
The proceeds from this fund raising will allow Crocus to hire engineers
and scientists in process engineering, test and design from all over Europe
and the US. Crocus is also acquiring specialized equipment, which will
enable the company to complete a first memory test vehicle in the next 12
months and its first commercial product shortly thereafter.
"This first round, quite unique in this technology area, is a defining
moment for Crocus," commented Jean-Pierre Braun, CEO of Crocus. "We now
have everything we need to be the first to bring to the marketplace a
competitive MRAM memory that will fulfill the customers expectations, in
particular with regards to reliability, speed and capacity," Braun added.
There are many important applications for MRAM memory. They are an
ideal fit for mobile phones, PDAs, smart cards, notebook computers, RFID
tags, as well as automotive and military applications.
Crocus board includes: Jean Bourcereau, General Partner with Ventech;
Eric Buatois, General Partner with Sofinnova Ventures; Michel Desbard,
Venture Partner with CDC Entreprises Innovation; Jean-Pierre Braun, CEO;
and other well known semiconductor personalities including Jacques Noels,
CEO of Nemoptic; Guy Crespy of CEA Valorisation and Luc-Olivier Bauer.
About Sofinnova Ventures
Sofinnova Ventures is a venture capital firm emphasizing a diversified
investment strategy through financing early stage companies in the life
science and information technology sectors. Founded in 1974, the San
Francisco-based firm currently has $600 million under management.
Sofinnovas mission is to create value by providing entrepreneurs with the
resources, experience and networks necessary to turn their bright ideas
into thriving businesses. With deeply rooted ties to Europes leading
financial, technology and venture institutions, Sofinnova is also uniquely
positioned to foster trans-Atlantic synergy and market acceleration. For
more information, visit http://www.sofinnova.com.
About Ventech
Ventech is a leading French venture capital firm investing in early
stage companies in the IT & communications and biotechnology sectors in
France and Continental Europe. Currently managing funds totaling euro 174
million, Ventech steam targets ambitious projects which have the potential
to become global leaders and uses its experience in operations and private
equity, start-up companies and high-growth businesses to generate results.
For more information, log on to http://www.ventech.fr.
About CDC Entreprises Innovation
CDC Entreprises Innovation ("CDC EI"), a subsidiary of CDC Entreprises,
invests in high tech businesses with strong growth perspectives primarily
in three sectors: information and communication technologies, life sciences
and biotechnologies, and semi-conductor industries. The company has over
euro 365M under management served by 10 professional investors. CDCEI has
made numerous investments in the components and materials sector including:
Nemoptic, Novaled, Tronics, TeemPhotonic.
For more information, please visit: http://www.cdcentreprises.fr.
About AGF Private Equity
AGF Private Equity, a subsidiary of the AGF Insurance Company, member
of the Allianz Group, manages an investment portfolio of 1.5bn. The company
is among the leaders in France in managing funds of funds, and is also one
of the most active investors in Venture Capital. The Venture Capital team
has invested in 50 high tech companies. AGF Private Equity invests about
euro 30m each year in innovative firms. With euro 275m under management in
its Venture Capital activity, AGF Private Equity is an active partner of
growth companies. For additional information on AGF Private Equity, visit:
http://www.agfpe.com.
About Sofinnova Partners
Founded in Paris in 1972, Sofinnova Partners is one of Europes leading
independent venture capital firms. With 900 million under management,
Sofinnova Partners invests in start-ups and early-stage companies in
information technology and lifesciences. Its investment strategy consists
of investing early in teams and projects with high potential, most often
acting as lead or co-lead investor. Sofinnova Partners also benefits from a
long- established relationship with its sister company in San Francisco,
Sofinnova Ventures. Sofinnova Partners team consists of 9 professionals
who bring market insight and technical expertise to portfolio companies.
For more information, visit: http://www.sofinnova.fr.
About NanoDimension
NanoDimension is a venture capital firm supporting top entrepreneurial
teams to build nanotech companies with the potential to become world
leaders in their field. The investment activities focus on IT/Electronics
and Life Sciences and on the convergence of these areas, in Europe as well
as North America. NanoDimension pursues an active and comprehensive
investment approach by providing the companies with financial resources,
strong entrepreneurial and managerial experience and extensive scientific
expertise through its team of experts. For further information:
http://www.nanodimension.com.
About CEA Valorisation
CEA Valorisation SA. is the subsidiary of Commissariat a lEnergie
Atomique (CEA) devoted to technology licensing as well as equity investment
in spin-off companies originating from CEA IP and know-how. CEA is a
multi-disciplinary scientific and technological research organization,
specializing in the fields of nuclear energy, new energy technologies,
information and communication technologies, and biotechnologies. Its
ability to combine fundamental research and value enhancement within an
industrial framework enables it to play a leading role in innovation. For
more information, please visit: http://www.cea.fr.
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