2 September 2011

nLIGHT raises $17.5m in Series E venture funding to speed growth

nLIGHT Corp of Vancouver, WA, USA, which makes high-power semiconductor lasers for material processing, defense and medical applications, recently raised $17.5m in a fully subscribed Series E round of venture capital financing, bringing total equity funding to about $110m.

Existing investors participating in the latest round included Oak Investment Partners, Mohr Davidow Ventures, and Menlo Ventures. All have been actively involved with the firm for more than 10 years and have a strong record of companies achieving initial public offerings, notes nLIGHT.

nLIGHT says that the new funding will help to fuel rapid growth in semiconductor-based laser products such as multi-kilowatt laser systems, high-peak-power pulsed fiber lasers, and diode-pumped solid-state laser rangefinders.

In particular, the new investment will be used to expand the firm’s 65,000-square-foot headquarters and manufacturing facility by 11,000 square feet. Construction has already started. It will also relocate its administrative functions out of its existing building to a second, 18,000-square-foot building in the same Vancouver industrial park.

“We founded nLIGHT with the vision that dramatic improvements in semiconductor lasers would transform the laser industry and enable disruptive new applications,” says CEO Scott Keeney. “This funding will allow us to continue to fulfill this vision and support our accelerating growth,” he adds.

The funding follows recent highlights including: continued growth in profitability; more than $60m in orders booked in first-half 2011; the addition of more than 100 employees in the last year (bringing the total to over 400); and the launch of the nPower multi-kilowatt laser platform.

Tags: nLight Diode laser

Visit: www.nLIGHT.net