Many patents have been filed for or granted in various areas of nanotechnology, and movements to commercialize applications based on these patents are intensifying. In the U.S., nanotechnology is a highly promising investment area post-IT and large conferences on investments in nanotechnology are held frequently. Many university-based ventures have been founded in Japan recently, and therefore, the next few years are expected to bring high returns as a private equity investment.
Nanotech Partners will invest in and support companies that have finished basic research and have clear visions on how to adopt their technology to products and applications and how to penetrate the market.
Nanotech Partners investigates all nano level technology without exception – a wide range encompassing nano-materials, applications for IT, energy, environment, life science, etc., and also tool technology for nano-size measurement and analysis.
Among these areas, nano-carbons, such as fullerenes and carbon nanotubes, is one of the areas that Nanotech Partners, along with Fullerene International Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation, has an advantage in and will actively investigate. As a basic material, nano-carbon, with its many unique features, has huge potential to be utilized for various applications, such as material for electronic and optical devices, new energy supply systems, pharmaceutical applications, and coating and additives for other materials, etc. For this area, Nanotech Partners has invested in Frontier Carbon Corporation, the world’s first fullerene mass production company, and Tailored Material Corporation, an R&D company specializing in double walled carbon nanotubes. It will continue to support commercialization in this area.
The advantage of Nanotech Partners lies in the strong alliance with partners that already have experience commercializing nanotechnology. Unlike IT ventures, the commercialization of nanotechnology requires actual facilities, mass production know-how, and networks with the right partners in the field. These are the “Death Valley” nanotechnology venture businesses have to pass through before they can succeed.
Nanotech Partners has strong alliances with partners such as Mitsubishi Corporation, which has the know-how for commercialization of nanotechnology and a vast network encompassing many industries, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation and Honjo Chemical Corporation, which are actively working on commercialization and have the knowledge to evaluate technology, and Fullerene International Corporation, MER, and RCT, which can support business in the U.S. With these partners, Nanotech Partners will support the business of the investees, contributing to stable growth.
Funds will be invested in new or early stage businesses, therefore, in addition to financial projections, qualitative aspects such as the following will be highly important in decision making.
- Has secured intellectual property rights
- Has firm business model
- Sufficiently large market expected
- Reliable manufacturing technologies established
- Quality of the management team
