New Majority Stake in CILAS; ColdQuanta Continues Growth: Week in Brief: 11/04/22

Safran Electronics & Defense and MBDA completed the acquisition of ArianeGroup’s 63% majority stake in CILAS, a French company specializing in lasers for military applications. The acquisition was carried out through a joint company created for the purpose called HMS Laser, equally owned by Safran Electronics & Defense and MBDA. CILAS designs, develops, produces, and sells laser products and optical solutions for military and civil applications.

Safran Electronics & Defense and MBDA completed the acquisition of ArianeGroup’s 63% majority stake in CILAS, a French company specializing in lasers for military applications. Courtesy of Safran Group.

BOULDER, Colo. — Quantum technology company ColdQuanta closed a $110 million series B funding round to continue commercializing its product portfolio. The close follows ColdQuanta’s recent receipt of a multimillion dollar investment from the state of Victoria, Australia, to establish an Asia-Pacific quantum computing and technology facility at Swinburne University of Technology.

QUEBEC CITY — EXFO, a communications technology company, received 15.9 million CAD ($11.5 million) in funding from the Canadian federal government to be used to establish the 5G Centre of Excellence in Montreal. The funding comes from the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development’s Strategic Innovation Fund.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — Sensing technology company Aeva hired teams in Germany, India, and Thailand, and appointed Clement Kong to lead sales in the Asia Pacific region. The teams will support sales, technology development, and manufacturing to accelerate development of Aeva’s 4D lidar technology and deepen customer relationships across the European and Asia Pacific markets.

DARESBURY, England — Materials technology company Graphjet Technology Sdn Bhd partnered with quantum dot technology company Quantum Science Ltd. to develop a flagship new materials platform. The companies expect work to begin once the agreement is finalized in early 2023. In a separate development, Quantum Science was awarded a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) to explore improvements for semiconductor fabrication, testing, and manufacturing process. The joint project funded by Innovate UK targets quantum dot devices. Quantum Science’s KTP will run for 24 months and be led by a postdoctoral-level employee from the University of Glasgow who will work on technology transfer to Quantum Science. The company’s existing commercial quantum dots are tuned to be sensitive to shortwave infrared light, a spectral region of interest for applications such as 3D sensing for augmented reality and mixed reality; mobile spectroscopy; lidar; surveillance; and safety.

Cutting Edge Optronics’ (CEO’s) expansion will more than double its cleanroom space in 2023. Northrop Grumman-CEO is a supplier of laser diode arrays and laser system hardware. Courtesy of CEO.

ST. CHARLES, Mo. — Cutting Edge Optronics (CEO) will expand its laser diode manufacturing capabilities. The first phase will be an expansion of the front-end manufacturing area which processes gallium arsenide wafers for use in laser diode arrays. The project will more than double CEO’s cleanroom space in 2023. Installation of a new set of wafer processing equipment will follow. The planned expansion is the latest in a series of recent upgrades to the facility that have been focused on automation, manufacturing efficiencies, and improved product quality.

BOCA RATON, Fla. — Terran Orbital Corp., a satellite-based technology company serving the U.S. and Allied aerospace and defense industries, received a $100 million investment from Lockheed Martin in exchange for convertible notes and warrants. In connection with the investment, Terran Orbital and Lockheed Martin entered into a strategic cooperation agreement that runs through 2035 and allows Terran Orbital to pursue a wider variety of opportunities with Lockheed Martin. Terran Orbital intends to use the funds to acquire additional satellite assembly space, increase module production, and satisfy working capital needs while expanding advanced manufacturing abilities.

DALLAS — Hitachi High-Tech America Inc., a subsidiary of Hitachi High-Tech Corp., expanded its Analytical Systems Division by incorporating the business operations of two other Hitachi High-Tech Group companies: Hitachi High-Tech Analytical Science America Inc. and Hitachi High-Tech Science America Inc. The combination creates a combined analytical group to provide products and services that address sectors ranging from life sciences and chemistry to materials and industrial analysis.

WEST HENRIETTA, N.Y. — Vuzix, a manufacturer of waveguides, wearable display technologies, and augmented reality solutions serving the enterprise, commercial, and defense markets, plans a phased expansion of its existing footprint in Henrietta, N.Y., by up to 40,000 sq ft, adjacent to its current location, to accommodate the addition of multiple new waveguide manufacturing lines. The company will create 66 new jobs over the next four years. Ninety-four jobs will be retained. The total project cost has been placed at over $21 million.

RICHARDSON, Texas — Optex Systems Holdings Inc., a manufacturer of precision optical sighting systems for military and commercial applications, was awarded a five-year contract for laser interference filter assemblies from the U.S. government. The award carries a maximum order value of $7.5 million and pertains to various night-vision goggle systems. In a separate award, the company received a $3.4 million order to repair and refurbish night-vision equipment for the government of Israel.

LEUVEN, Belgium — MICLEDI Microdisplays, a developer of microLED displays for augmented reality glasses, reported its demonstration of 630-nm wavelength red gallium nitride (GaN) with outstanding full-width-half-max (FWHM) in the range of 50 nm. Historically, according to the company, red microLEDs have been considered a poor performing part. The company said its red GaN is compatible with the company’s CMOS-fab technology; follows the identical process recipe as the company’s blue and green arrays; accommodates pixel-level microlenses for high-efficiency optics integration; and is tailored for industry-standard 300-mm commercial foundries for high-volume mass production. MICLEDI introduced blue GaN and green GaN LED display test chips earlier this year. Red samples are projected to be available to customers before the end of the year.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Qorvo, a provider of connectivity and power solutions, and SK Siltron CSS, a semiconductor wafer manufacturer, finalized a multiyear supply agreement for silicon carbide (SiC) bare and epitaxial wafers. The agreement aims to promote domestic semiconductor supply chain resilience and a greater ability to support rising demand for advanced SiC solutions, specifically in the automotive market, the companies said. SK Siltron CSS is a subsidiary of South Korea-based SK Siltron, a part of the SK Group.

NASHUA, N.H. — Starting Nov. 1, Nor-Cal Products, a manufacturer of vacuum components, valves, and chambers, is renamed and is doing business as Pfeiffer Vacuum Valves & Engineering. Pfeiffer Vacuum acquired Nor-Cal Products in 2017. Its product range enhances the vacuum solutions portfolio that Pfeiffer Vacuum provides.

BALTIMORE — Compound materials supplier Pixelligent secured $38 million in financing backed by its intellectual property portfolio. This capital brings Pixelligent’s total funding in its current financing round to over $45 million. The company’s products are used enable augmented reality/mixed reality devices, displays, optical and lidar sensors, and more. According to Pixelligent, it will use the growth funding to accelerate and expand commercial activities in its target markets in partnership with consumer electronics companies, and to develop new synthetic metal oxides and applications.

AMSTERDAM — Quantum computing company QuiX Quantum opened its third office since 2019, in Amsterdam. The location aims to allow for strategic relationships within the quantum ecosystem with closer proximity to QuSoft; the University of Amsterdam; the Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica; and Quantum.Amsterdam. QuiX Quantum aims to be the first European company to further develop a universal quantum computer based on photonics as a customer-specific development.