Intel Capital Leads $10M Round in MEMS Memory Co.

Online staff -- Electronic News, 4/18/2006

MEMS developer Nanochip Inc. has secured $10 million of a $15 million follow-on funding round, led by Intel Capital.

The ten-year-old company said it has left open $5 million of addition funding in the round for other potential investors.

Nanochip plans to use the funding to help it bring its MEMS-based ultra high capacity memory to a variety of consumer applications, according to Gordon Knight, president and CEO. In the last two years, Nanochip engineering teams have overcome several significant media physics challenges.  During that time, the company has applied for more than 20 patents.

Fremont, Calif.-based Nanochip is developing the new class of ultra-high-capacity MEMS-based storage chips with bit densities that enable storage of tens of gigabytes per chip or the equivalent of many high-definition feature-length videos.

The technology uses a nano-probe array that goes far beyond the expected limits of conventional lithography used in today’s memory chips. Nanochip is designing a family of removable, rewritable storage products for use in a wide range of future consumer electronics products that will require data storage capacities that exceed the physical limitations of today’s semiconductor memory technology.

"We look forward to working closely with Intel on the development of these very high capacity storage chip products,“ said Knight, in a statement announcing the round of funding.

“Consumer applications such as digital photography, music and video are opportunities where MEMS-based ultra-high capacity memory can deliver unique advantages over traditional memory devices,” said Keith Larson, director of manufacturing, memory and digital health sectors for Intel Capital, in a statement.  “Intel Capital, through its relationship with Intel, plans to work closely with Nanochip in developing these next generation devices.”

Also participating in the Nanochip funding round is JK&B Capital, the venture capital firm that led the B funding round. 

Nanochip’s technology falls into the category of compact data storage which is currently supported by NAND flash memories and micro-sized hard disk drives, the company said, in a statement.  NAND flash, which has a fast write speed and dense capacity, is becoming the storage technology of choice for digital consumer devices, including MP3 music players, digital cameras and digital camcorders. According to market research company Semico Research Corp., the full market for NAND flash memories, including the high capacity range targeted by Nanochip’s technology, is projected to reach $36.1 billion in 2008.