Miasolé
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Miasolé | |
|---|---|
| Type | Private |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Founder | David Pearce Dennis Hollars |
| Headquarters | Santa Clara, California, U.S. |
| Key people | Joseph Laia (CEO) Merle McClendon (CFO) Stephen Barry Paul Shufflebotham Bruce Hachtmann Leroy L. Luo |
| Industry | Solar Energy |
| Products | Solar panels |
| Revenue | US$7,200,000 (2007) [1] |
| Employees | 72 [1] |
| Website | miasole.com |
Miasolé is a solar energy company developing photovoltaic cells based on copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) semiconductor. It has raised over $100 million in investment and government grants. The company is based in Santa Clara, California.
The company laid off 40 staff in December 2007, raising the possibility that it has encountered technical difficulties with its technology. [2]
Contents |
[edit] Investment History
Miasolé raised $16 million in venture capital investment in June 2005, in a round led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, [3] and raised a further $35 million in October 2006. [4] The company raised $50 million in a fourth round of financing in September 2007, bringing its total financing to $100 million. At the same time, the company received a $20 million grant from the Solar America Initiative. [5]
[edit] Technology
Miasolé is developing solar panels based on thin film copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) semiconductor. CIGS is among the most efficient solar cell materials, but manufacturing it in volume has been a problem. Miasolé is developing a new production process drawing on its founders' experience in the hard disk industry. The process, called "sputtering", deposits a thin film of material onto a surface in a vacuum. [6]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Miasolé Hoover's business information
- ^ "Miasolé Layoffs Raise Questions About Technology", Greentech Media, 2007-12-21. Retrieved on 2008-01-21.
- ^ "Nanosolar, Miasolé stir up solar cell market", SiliconBeat, 2005-06-09. Retrieved on 2008-01-21.
- ^ "Solar start-up snags $35 million as CIGS ignites", ZDNet, 2006-10-27. Retrieved on 2008-01-21.
- ^ "Solar cell company Miasolé raises $50M", VentureBeat, 2007-09-26. Retrieved on 2008-01-21.
- ^ "Startup Miasolé has big designs on the growing solar panel market", Biztech Magazine, 2007-09-01. Retrieved on 2008-01-21.
