September 8, 2003
TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS INVESTS IN SENSICORE
SENSICORE POISED TO REVOLUTIONIZE WATER MONITORING
ANN ARBOR, MI. September 8, 2003 - Sensicore, developers of a revolutionary lab-on-a-chip multi-sensor device for water testing and monitoring, announced it has now completed its current round of equity financing with the addition of a $4.5M investment from Technology Partners, a leading twenty year-old venture capital firm in Palo Alto. The Company had previously closed on $6.5M of new equity investment in July from a consortium lead by NGEN Partners of Santa Barbara, bringing the total new round investment to $11M. The initial closing also included investments from Topspin Partners of NY, Firelake Capital of Palo Alto, Ardesta of Ann Arbor and a large corporate partner.
"We are very pleased to add Technology Partners to our Series B investment round." says Sensicore's CEO, Malcolm Kahn. "Attracting such a successful and proven venture capital firm as Technology Partners is validation of Sensicore's huge potential and of the emerging investor interest in the water market in general. In fact, our equity round, which totaled $11M, was oversubscribed."
As part of the investment, Ira Ehrenpreis will join Sensicore's Board of Directors. Mr. Ehrenpreis, Partner at Technology Partners, is leading the venture firm's effort in water and energy technology investments. "Sensicore is a great addition to our portfolio of water and energy technology companies." noted Mr. Ehrenpreis. "Like the energy segment, the water market is in a state of fundamental change and is poised to benefit from new technology targeted at upgrading an aging infrastructure and improving overall quality. Sensicore's lab-on-a-chip sensor is the first high speed, real-time, multi-tasking sensor that is low cost and enabling for widespread networked application, and ultimately applicable for home use. This breakthrough fundamentally changes the way water can be tested, monitored, and maintained to ensure its quality and safety."
About Sensicore
Based in Ann Arbor, Mich., Sensicore's innovative micro-sensor research has successfully developed a lab-on-a-chip multi-sensor device for a wide variety of water and wastewater applications from potable water, wastewater and environmental monitoring to industrial process control. The core technology focuses on a disposable silicon-based chip the size of a small button that incorporates chemical selective sensors and physical measurement devices to chemically profile a sample as small as a drop. Sensors are capable of simultaneously measuring a variety of analytes including the various species of chlorine, hardness, alkalinity, temperature, conductivity, total dissolved solids, oxidation reduction potential and the measurement of various gases, in addition to trace detection of heavy metal contaminants including arsenic, lead and copper. Sensors can be used with a simple handheld device for one-off in-field and laboratory analysis or can be placed on-line for continuous monitoring. Sensicore's first products will be in the marketplace next year. For more information on Sensicore, go to www.sensicore.com.
About Technology Partners
Technology Partners is a 20 year-old venture capital firm that manages more than $400 million of investment capital with current investments being made from Technology Partners Fund VII. The firm serves principally as a lead investor and business adviser to technology-based ventures. Technology Partners has invested in over 60 companies in a variety of industries. The majority of investments are in early stage companies. The firm invests approximately half of its capital in information technology companies and the other half into companies focused on the life sciences. Within information technology, Technology Partners currently focuses on the areas of energy and water technology, as well enterprise automation. For more information on Technology Partners, go to www.technologypartners.com.
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