Investment Fuels Aggressive Expansion in PHEV/BEV and Utility Energy Storage Markets to Complement Notebook PC and Portable Power Initiatives
WESTBOROUGH, Mass. – June 25, 2010 – Boston-Power, Inc., the rapidly growing provider of next-generation Lithium-ion batteries, today announced $60 million in Series E funding co-led by existing investors Foundation Asset Management (FAM) and Oak Investment Partners. Current investors Venrock and Gabriel Venture Partners are also participating. Among the world’s most well-financed companies in energy storage and clean technology, Boston-Power has attracted $185 million in investment since being founded in 2005.
“Energy storage is the cornerstone of some of the most profound shifts in technology and society that we’ve seen in our lifetimes – ranging from the electrification of transportation and the reinvention of grid power to truly ubiquitous mobility,” said Boston-Power Founder and CEO Dr. Christina Lampe-Önnerud. “Boston-Power’s technology platform answers the call for new and better-performing batteries to facilitate these historic advancements. We’ve entered our next stage of growth to accommodate the demand we’re seeing across all markets and from around the world, and we’re doing so with a world-class team of employees, customers, investors and partners.”
Boston-Power will use the growth capital to scale manufacturing, sales, marketing and research and development for its next-generation Lithium-ion Battery Technology Platform currently embodied in the company’s Sonata® and Swing™ battery systems. Targeting the multi-billion dollar market for notebook computer batteries, Sonata debuted in March 2009 through a relationship with HP, the world’s number one provider of notebook PCs. Branded as HP’s Long Life Battery, Sonata-powered battery packs are compatible with a range of consumer and commercial models available globally. On June 3, 2010, ASUS announced it will soon ship a new line of business notebooks powered by Sonata as the standard battery pack.
Capitalizing on the same disruptive Lithium-ion Battery Technology Platform, Boston-Power in June 2009 announced the Swing battery, which sets new benchmarks for energy density combined with industry-leading long life, safety, reliability, environmental sustainability and price/performance. These capabilities make Swing battery systems ideal for Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV), Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) and Utility Energy Storage applications. In December 2009, Boston-Power announced that Saab’s new zero-emission, high performance electric vehicle, the ZE Saab 9-3, would be powered by a Swing battery system. The first vehicles under this test program will be available this fall, with more to follow in 2011. Boston-Power will unveil additional customers in the transportation and utility markets from around the world later this year, in accordance to those organizations’ respective announcement plans.
“Boston-Power is among the best positioned companies in energy storage based on its ability to commercialize its breakthrough battery technology and attract a growing list of top-branded customers,” said Oak Investment Partners Managing Partner Bandel Carano. “All of Boston-Power’s investors and board members are truly excited to help these world class entrepreneurs scale their patented innovations in cycle life, safety, power and energy density of Lithium-ion battery solutions into very high volume applications in portable electronics, electric vehicles and grid storage.”
On related matters, Oak Investment Partners Managing Partner Bandel Carano assumes the role of board chairman from Dr. Tony Evnin, general partner with Venrock, who remains on the board. Joining the board is Oak Investment Partners Venture Partner Allan C.Y. Kwan. With 25 years of information technology, telecommunications and general management experience, Kwan brings extensive expertise in Greater China business operations. This includes serving as vice president of Yahoo! International following its $1.7 billion U.S. investment in Alibaba.com; chairman and CEO of Asia.com; and Motorola’s lead executive for the paging products division in Greater China.
Along with Lampe-Önnerud; Axel Wallenberg, board member, Foundation Asset Management; and Richard Nilsson, senior analyst, Foundation Asset Management, completing Boston-Power’s board are directors Robert C. Purcell, Jr., a 30-year auto industry veteran responsible for the development and production of the GM EV-1, the world’s first modern electric vehicle; and Martin J. Garvin, internationally recognized supply chain and procurement executive and former senior vice president of worldwide procurement and global customer experience for Dell, Inc.
Underscoring its global momentum, Lampe-Önnerud and Boston-Power have earned numerous industry and environmental distinctions. These include:
· Top 10 clean technology company in The Wall Street Journal’s “Next Big Thing”
· World Economic Forum 2010 Technology Pioneer
· Top 10 technological innovations of the last generation on the History Channel’s Modern Marvels
· Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award in the clean tech category for the New England region
· Northern Europe's Top Sustainable Leadership Award
· The Guardian and Cleantech Group’s 2009 Global Cleantech 100
· Election into the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, IVA, the world’s oldest and one of the most highly regarded engineering academies
About Foundation Asset Management
Foundation Asset Management (FAM) manages the assets of the Wallenberg Foundations. FAM is a major shareholder (directly and through advisory agreements with the Wallenberg Foundations) in a number of Nordic listed companies. By being a committed, long-term and value-adding owner FAM aims to generate good total returns which in turn will enable the Wallenberg Foundations to fund scientific research and education. A smaller share of the portfolio is allocated to alternative investments, including private equity and venture capital. For more information, please visit www.fam.se.
About Oak Investment Partners
Oak Investment Partners is a multi-stage venture capital firm. The primary investment focus is on high growth opportunities in Broadband Internet and Wireless Communications, Information Technology and Software Outsourced Services, Consumer Internet/New Media, Financial Services Technology, Healthcare Information and Services, Clean Energy, and Retail. Over a 31-year history, Oak has achieved a strong track record as a stage-independent investor funding more than 481 companies at key points in their lifecycle. Oak has been involved in the formation of companies, funded spinouts of operating divisions and technology assets, and provided growth equity to mid- and late-stage private businesses and to public companies through PIPE investments.
About Venrock
Venrock is a premier venture capital firm with offices in Palo Alto, New York, Cambridge, MA and Israel. Originally established as the venture capital arm of the Rockefeller family, Venrock continues the eight-decade tradition of partnering with entrepreneurs to establish successful, enduring companies. Having invested $2.5 billion in nearly 450 companies resulting in more than 120 IPOs in 41 years, Venrock’s investment returns place it among the top tier venture capital firms that have achieved consistently superior performance. With a primary focus on technology, healthcare, and energy portfolio companies have included Adify, Adnexus Therapeutics, Apple Computer, athenahealth, Centocor, Check Point Software, DoubleClick, Gilead Sciences, Idec Pharmaceuticals, Illumina, Intel, Ironwood, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Sirna Therapeutics, StrataCom, and Vontu. For more information, please visit Venrock’s website at www.venrock.com.
About Gabriel Venture Partners
Gabriel Venture Partners® is an early-stage venture capital firm committed to fostering innovation by actively assisting entrepreneurs in technology and technology-enabled businesses. Gabriel seeks investment opportunities in capital-efficient companies with disruptive innovations that have the potential to be market leaders. Gabriel is based in Silicon Valley and has over $260 million under management. Gabriel’s investment team consists of seasoned technology entrepreneurs and industry executives, each with international operating experience and strong domain expertise. Current investments include many disruptive companies, including Aurora BioFuels, Boston-Power, Chegg, NextG Networks, PlantSense, and iModa. Some of Gabriel’s exits include Step Labs (acquired by Dolby), LVL7 (acquired by Broadcom), NeoPath (acquired by Cisco), NetScaler (acquired by Citrix), Iridigm (acquired by Qualcomm) and Placeware (acquired by Microsoft). For more information on Gabriel, visit www.GabrielVP.com.
About Boston-Power
Boston-Power, Inc. is an award-winning provider of next-generation lithium-ion battery technology. Designed to fuel a wide range of applications, its flagship offering, Sonata®, serves as the foundation for HP’s new brand of longer lasting notebook batteries that also help the environment – the HP Long Life Battery. The company’s Swing™ product delivers unmatched capabilities for Plug-In Hybrid and Battery Electric Vehicles (PHEV/BEV), and utility energy storage. Founded in 2005 and with more than 120 patents filed, Boston-Power is led by Founder and CEO Dr. Christina Lampe-Önnerud, an internationally recognized innovator, entrepreneur and technology advisor with regard to portable power, energy storage and climate change. Boston-Power is headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts, and has Six Sigma-level mass manufacturing operations in Asia.
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Boston-Power®, Sonata® and Swing™ are trademarks of Boston-Power, Inc. Other brand names or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
For more information, please contact:
Chris Carleton
CHEN PR for Boston-Power
Mobile: 857-891-2989
Office: 781-672-3115
ccarleton@chenpr.com
