Aledia

Nanowire LED Innovator Aledia Completes $31 Million Series B Financing With the Ecotechnologies fund

The Ecotechnologies Fund, managed by Bpifrance Investissement on behalf of the French State as part of the Investments for the future program (PIA) entrusted to ADEME, made its ninth investment with Aledia. This investment of $7.9 million aims to support Aledia’s technical and commercial development. It was carried out through a capital increase for a total of $31 million, along with the Valeo Group, IKEA GreenTech AB and financial investors Sofinnova Partners, Demeter Partners, Braemar Energy Ventures and ATI, managed by CEA Investissement.
Based in Grenoble (France), Aledia is developing a new generation of LEDs that are manufactured on largediameter
silicon wafers (200mm or 8-inch), promise to be significantly less expensive than traditional “2D” LEDs, and allow for integration of electronics into the LED. The company also is working on next-generation displays.
The 3D LED technology developed by Aledia is protected by a strong IP portfolio composed by more than 60 international patents and should enable to divide by four production costs. Aledia is the leader of an industrial and innovative European activity, in competition with Asian players.
Benefiting from strong skills and knowledge in microelectronics, Aledia’s management team has convinced two prestigious industrial groups to settle partnerships with the startup in order to deploy Aledia’s technologies on two main markets : general lighting and automotive.
“This financing round, abundantly oversubscribed, and particularly the presence of two very large potential corporate customers, testifies to the interest that our cost-disruptive nanowire LED technology is generating in the customer base, as well as in the financial community,” said Giorgio Anania, CEO, chairman and cofounder of Aledia. “We are progressing with the development of the technology and this financing round will allow us to accelerate significantly the speed of development and the customer traction. This transaction opens up to us a large potential customer in the general lighting market, the largest market segment for LEDs, and with the presence of Valeo we have a major potential customer in the automotive LED market, generally viewed as the most profitable market segment. Simultaneously with the investment we have signed supply agreements with these players.”
“We are convinced that Aledia’s 3D LED technology, together with Valeo’s expertise in automobile lighting systems, has the potential to put on the market a technological breakthrough in innovative lighting systems, perfectly in line with Valeo Lighting System’s mission to provide performance and style, and contribute to the safety of road users”, said Maurizio Martinelli, Valeo Visibility Business Group President.
“Bpifrance is very enthusiastic regarding this transaction: Aledia masters a disruptive technology on a growing market and positions itself an essential component of smart lighting. Aledia is taking profit from a strong competitive edge to develop a French and European activity in LED lighting, along with leaders on the general lighting and automotive markets”, explains Anne-Sophie Carrese, Investment Director at Bpifrance Investissement.

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