Abingdon-based nanotech startup P2i has raised an additional £5.5m, bringing the total investment in the liquid repellent nano-coating venture to £17.2m.
The company, a spinoff from the Ministry of Defence in 2004, makes repellent coatings that are used in a wide number of areas, including electronics, industrial filters and military clothing. Its Aridion coating for electronic equipment is used to protect hearing aids and batteries from water damage, reducing equipment failure caused by rain, high humidity and accidental wearing in the shower.
The company, a spinoff from the Ministry of Defence in 2004, makes repellent coatings that are used in a wide number of areas, including electronics, industrial filters and military clothing. Its Aridion coating for electronic equipment is used to protect hearing aids and batteries from water damage, reducing equipment failure caused by rain, high humidity and accidental wearing in the shower.
P2i's traction within the electronics sector has gained pace within the past year, with licensing agreements with three of the world's six largest hearing aid manufacturers.
The funding has come from existing shareholders, Naxos Capital Partners, Swarraton Partners, Porton Capital, Unilever Ventures and Rainbow Seedfund.
"We are now really beginning to gain momentum, with our world leading liquid repellent nano-technology being used by a range of customers in a range of high volume products around the world," said Carl Francis, Chief Executive of P2i.
"The jump in royalty revenue is a clear indication of our prospects as our customers' ramp up the usage of our technology. We have also signed another six key multi-year licensing agreements across four sectors, which not only bodes well for our prospects but importantly widens our industry sector exposure.
P2i's technology works by applying a nanometre-thin polymer layer over the entire surface of a product. Using an ionised gas this layer is molecularly bound to the surface and will not leach away, giving better gives oil and water repellency by reducing the surface energy to one third that of PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene).
Nick Flaherty has been covering technology and startups since 1990 and is based in Bristol, where he co-founded the SiliconSouthWest network. During that time he has worked for most of the electronics magazines and newspapers in the UK and several in Europe and the US, covering all areas of the industry. He blogs at The Embedded blog www.embeddedblog.blogspot.com and Portable Multimedia www.portablemultimedia.blogspot.com and at www.flaherty.co.uk.
The funding has come from existing shareholders, Naxos Capital Partners, Swarraton Partners, Porton Capital, Unilever Ventures and Rainbow Seedfund.
"We are now really beginning to gain momentum, with our world leading liquid repellent nano-technology being used by a range of customers in a range of high volume products around the world," said Carl Francis, Chief Executive of P2i.
"The jump in royalty revenue is a clear indication of our prospects as our customers' ramp up the usage of our technology. We have also signed another six key multi-year licensing agreements across four sectors, which not only bodes well for our prospects but importantly widens our industry sector exposure.
P2i's technology works by applying a nanometre-thin polymer layer over the entire surface of a product. Using an ionised gas this layer is molecularly bound to the surface and will not leach away, giving better gives oil and water repellency by reducing the surface energy to one third that of PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene).
Nick Flaherty has been covering technology and startups since 1990 and is based in Bristol, where he co-founded the SiliconSouthWest network. During that time he has worked for most of the electronics magazines and newspapers in the UK and several in Europe and the US, covering all areas of the industry. He blogs at The Embedded blog www.embeddedblog.blogspot.com and Portable Multimedia www.portablemultimedia.blogspot.com and at www.flaherty.co.uk.
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