Aquest raises $20 million in second venture round
Aquest raises $20 million in second venture round Aquest Systems has announced it has raised $20 million in its second round of venture financing. Company officials report that the funds will be used to drive commercialisation of the company's breakthrough automation systems, which are primed to enable No-Wait-ManufacturingSM (NWM)—an increasingly critical requirement for short-cycle chip manufacturing in today's consumer-driven era. Participants in this latest round include existing lead investor Menlo Ventures and two international investment firms—Walden International and Global Catalyst Partners (GCP).
In addition to accelerating commercial availability of Aquest's automation systems, the new financing will enable the company to service its first beta-site installation at a major IC company in Asia. The funding comes at a high point in Aquest's technology roadmap, with preparations already under way for the first major installation of the company's new automation system.
"This is the first of many milestones for Aquest as we take our much-needed NWM vision to the market," said Parikh. "With these two global investors joining our long-term partner, Menlo Ventures, we are entering our next phase of growth with a technology and cost-effective business model that are ideally suited to meet the industry's incessant demand for higher productivity, more cost-efficient automation technologies—especially for small-lot, short-cycle manufacturing."
Walden's founder and chairman, Lip-Bu Tan, noted, "As global investors, we share Aquest's vision to create an Asia-centric, customer-responsive and cost-efficient company that provides automation solutions for both the IC and LCD manufacturing markets."
Mr. Koji Osawa, Global Catalyst Partners' co-founder and managing principal, concurred, adding "GCP's extensive network of Japanese partners will assist in building successful partnerships and joint ventures in Asia, and Japan. We look forward to helping the company build its global organization to ensure that chip manufacturers worldwide have access to Aquest's technology."
