QD Vision, With $20M More in VC, Waves Flag for Boston Nanotech
QD Vision is a throwback to the days when “nano” was cool. OK, that was 10 years ago, but still.
These days you would be hard-pressed to find many thriving nanomaterials companies in the Boston area (not counting biotechs). But Lexington, MA-based QD Vision seems to be doing just fine. The company has just closed $20 million in new venture funding, bringing its total raised to something like $75 million since 2004.
The new money comes from previous investors, including North Bridge Venture Partners, Highland Capital Partners, In-Q-Tel, and DTE Energy Ventures. (And the company has clearly cracked our list of biggest VC bets on technology companies in Boston.)
QD Vision has found a business in using its “quantum dot” nanomaterials to enhance the LED backlight in high-end LCD televisions. The result: a fuller range of colors for TV makers like Sony.
Of course, that’s not all that quantum dots are good for. QD Vision is working on other products in flat-panel displays, solid-state lighting, and defense and security applications. But it’s still hard out here for a nanotech.
The company spun out of the labs of MIT professors Vladimir Bulovic and Moungi Bawendi in 2004. It is led now by CEO Jason Carlson, who joined in 2010.
