Eurekite, the first worldwide provider of a new nanotechnology based flexible ceramics, announced today thatCottonwood Euro Technology Funds, an affiliate of the top performing seed stage investor in science based technology start-ups in the US, has closed on founding capital to begin operations in Enschede, The Netherlands. The technology, initially developed at the MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology (University of Twente), has numerous benefits over current ceramics, in particular that it behaves like paper and can be shaped into any position, and that it is not brittle. Therefore it can be used in many harsh environments without the limitations of currently available to ceramics and also providing unique thermal, electrical, catalytic and filtering characteristics.
Cottonwood is one of the only funds in the US to excel in seed/early stage science based investing outside The Valley andBoston. They focus on regions rich in ideas, but emerging in the areas of experienced management and capital. “We chose Twente as the epicenter of our European hub because of the existence of its world class entrepreneurial environment, the leading entrepreneurial university there, and their joint commitment to continuing to develop this ecosystem. Our initial two investments being founded on University of Twente technology provides additional evidence that the Twente region is rich in world class innovation,” says Europe’s lead General Partner Ray Quintana.
Gerard Cadafalch, co-founder/CEO of Eurekite: “We are already receiving customer interest internationally across applications as diverse as oil & gas sensors, mobile phone antenna’s, lithium-ion battery energy performance upgrades, high power electronics for electric vehicles and even solar energy. Attracting Cottonwood’s support has already opened additional doors for us and provides the capital needed to begin delivering initial working prototypes and purchasing the equipment needed to set up initial scaling capabilities. We are excited to take Eurekite to the next level.”
Eurekite
Eurekite is the first worldwide provider of nanotechnology based flexible ceramics. They have developed a flexible ceramic PCB concept, merging the flexibility and lightweight of the polymer with the temperature stability and electrical insulation of a ceramic PCB. The concept offers a low dielectric constant and losses while keeping relatively high dielectric strength, thus providing an excellent platform for high quality signal transmission in several environments.
The heat conductivity of the flexible ceramic PCB is much superior to that of the standard ceramic PCB. This unique capability of the flexible ceramic PCBs is one of the innovations enabled on the ceramic nanotechnology platform and the first product the company plans to bring the market. The flexible ceramic PCB can create breakthroughs in the fields of telecommunications, power electronics and high temperature sensing. Its properties will enable industry to break the design rules of electronic systems and devices, paving the way for new novel product concepts.
Cottonwood
Cottonwood primarily invests in companies active in photonics, advanced materials, healthcare and clean energy. CottonwoodEurope is headquartered at Kennispark, the innovation campus in Twente, The Netherlands, which has proven to be a perfect strategic location to serve The Netherlands, but also Germany, France and Belgium. Preqin, a recognized leader in tracking private equity fund performance, lists Cottonwood as a top performing early stage VC fund in the US. The investment strategy that Cottonwood follows is to focus on international growth from the beginning and recruiting all resources needed for success to partner with the company in its region of origin.
