ADC Ventures Backs Start-Up Northstar Photonics

MINNEAPOLIS, July 18 -- ADC Ventures, the investment branch of ADC Telecommunications, has invested an undisclosed amount in the newly developed company Northstar Photonics Inc. Northstar Photonics develops next generation laser-based optical devices that are designed to bolster fiber optic telecommunications networks by increasing speed and system bandwidth.
Northstar fits nicely into ADC Venture's objectives of investing in companies that have both high growth potential and synergies with ADC's focus on next generation optical network solutions, said Robert E. Switz, general manager of ADC Ventures and CFO of ADC Telecommunications. We believe that Northstar's solutions hold tremendous promise for the photonics market, and we expect they will become a key component in the successful deployment of all-optical networks.
The investment by ADC came in Northstar's freshly completed round of financing, which totaled $8.5 million.