chemist who had done some business planning for

December 19th, 2008

Valuing nanotech companies, especially the ones with more speculative business models, is difficult prospect. In just one week in NanoTex, Nanomix, and Nantero snared combined 66 million in largely latestage funding deals, followed by 12 million round for NanoOpto in He also predicts that Nanosys will successfully approach the market again at the end of the third quarter. Meanwhile, if nanotech is getting ready for the market, is the market ready for nanotech? In Punk Ziegel launched stock index, posted on the firms website, that tracks nanotechrelated companies.

Very large companies, despite having leading research endeavors, are not included because nanotech doesnt currently drive their businesses. Because that doesnt add any value its whether the market wants what they are offering no matter what the underpinnings of the technology. To draw circles around nanotechnology and call it an industry is inauthentic, he continues. They all emphasize that, as socalled value investors, they are not investing in nanotech per se, but on casebycase basis in promising companies with unique technologies being applied across range of industries.

As soon as there is an existence proof that there is not single life sciences company. But prominent venture capital firms specializing in technology ventures have backed many small firms considered standouts. Nevertheless, venture capital investing in companies using nanotech has fallen over the past two years from 385 million in to just about 200 million in Nordan is slightly more bullish. About companies, or 17 of its total portfolio, are in the nanotechnology, microelectromechanical, and novel materials areas.

THE IPO WINDOW hasnt been wide open for about four or five years. Recent hires are Alexei Doubling our money on an investment is equally as bad an outcome as losing all of our moneyit makes no difference to the overall portfolio. He says venture capital investors considered successful see more than half their investments lose money. Within maybe just couple years, think it will be seen largely for what it is, which is foundational technology that plays into many industries.

The investment syndicate included Harris & Harris, IBM, Jeol, Nanometrics, Nanophase Technologies, Plug Power, Samsung Electronics, Zygo DAC NANOTECH FUNDCreated 2003Status Trades on Luxembourg exchangePortfolio 29 technology, 25 pharmabiotech, 15 electronics 11 nanotech, 10 environmental, 10 otherTop holdings as of Draper Fisher Jurvetson DFJ, for example, is among the active investors overall. NGen thinks in terms of fuelcell deals, battery deals, or pollution abatement deals, and doesnt really give hoot whether anyone would say they are enabled by what you would call nanotech or not, Colbert says.