Raydiance secures $20 million, doubles pulse energy with ultrafast laser update

Nov. 21, 2008
NOVEMBER 21, 2008 -- Raydiance (Petaluma, CA), which calls itself "the world's first practical source of ultrafast light," has secured $20 million to scale infrastructure, evolve its technology and address larger markets. Simultaneously, the company released Discovery 2.0, an upgrade to its ultrashort pulse (USP) laser platform, which promises to build upon customers applications in ophthalmology, dermatology, gene transfection, and surgery.

NOVEMBER 21, 2008 -- Raydiance(Petaluma, CA), which calls itself "the world's first practical source of ultrafast light," has secured $20 million to scale its infrastructure, further evolve its technology and enhance its ability to address larger commercial markets.

Raydiance, led by former CEO of AOL Barry Schuler, also announced the launch of the new Raydiance Discovery 2.0 system, which delivers double the pulse energy of its first-generation ultrashort pulse(USP), or "ultrafast," laser platform.

"Similar to the evolution of computing, Raydiance is pursuing a 'Moore's Law'-like path to develop and bring to market ultrafast lasers that are cheaper, smaller and more powerful with each generation," said Raydiance co-founder and president Scott Davison.

"The introduction of the Raydiance Discovery 2.0 system, combined with our recently-secured round of funding, not only validates this vision, but also will enable the development of even more game-changing applications powered by Raydiance across a broader range of industries."

Over the past two years, Raydiance customers have been developing next-generation applications in ophthalmology, dermatology, gene transfection, and surgery, in addition to non-biomedical applications. The introduction of Raydiance Discovery 2.0 significantly expands Raydiance's market opportunities, notably in the machining of advanced vascular stents. Early next year, several new products powered by Raydiance that have the potential to disrupt this and other industries are expected to begin entering the marketplace.

Raydiance's $20 million "Series D" round of financing was led by Greenstreet Partners and joined by Draper Fisher Jurvetson, which provided the initial stage of funding for the company. "Greenstreet Partners invests in companies like Raydiance that are not only leaders in their industry, but also have the potential to revolutionize the way we live," said Ambassador Steven Green, Founding Partner of Greenstreet Partners. "Raydiance has clearly made great strides in harnessing the transformative power of ultrafast light, and we are confident this company has the vision, leadership and the cutting-edge technology necessary to help solve some of the most pressing global challenges of our time."

"After four successful years of developing the Raydiance ultrafast laser platform, bringing the technology to market and establishing a solid client base, this new round of funding will allow us to execute fully on our next stage of growth and development," said Davison.

Previously, Raydiance secured over $25 million in venture capital financing and $10 million in government funded R&D contracts, which enabled the launch of its first commercial product in 2007. Raydiance has reserved an additional $5 million to raise from a strategic investor.

The new Raydiance Discovery 2.0 system promises vastly improved performance metrics, including higher pulse energy and a shorter pulse that, together, result in dramatically increased peak power (10 Megawatts). Discovery 2.0 retains the same compact, reliable and easy-to-use software controls as its predecessor, while offering new, extensive software capabilities that allow for seamless systems integration into any commercial environment, whether a physician's office or manufacturing floor. The system's design also makes it capable of remote updates, system diagnostics and service. Raydiance Discovery 2.0 can be installed in 30 minutes in any room with a standard electrical outlet.

"Since launching our first ultrafast laser platform eighteen months ago, Raydiance has been committed to constantly evolving each generation of this system while ensuring that customers have unencumbered access to our newest technology," said Davison. "To date, we've seen incredible progress made by our customers and research partners, and we look forward to seeing the new products and services that will be enabled and powered by our breakthrough Discovery 2.0 product."

Ultrafast lasers interact with matter in a way that is fundamentally different from other lasers, providing the capability to precisely cut materials without generating heat, commonly referred to as "cold," or athermal, ablation. When deployed at lower, non-ablative energy levels, ultrafast light can create molecular and cellular phenomena with broad implications for genomics, medical treatments, and materials science.

More information:
Raydiance Discovery 2.0

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