The research institute has achieved a $135m close for its Imec.xpand fund, breaking through its target of $116m just over a year after launching fundraising efforts.

Nanoelectronics research institute Imec announced the close of its early-stage and growth fund Imec.xpand at €117m ($135m) today, above the initial target of €100m set in June 2017.
Apart from Imec itself, limited partners also include several unnamed universities as well as the Flemish government and its investment company PMV, state-owned regional development agency BOM and Belgian government-owned investment firm SFPI-FPIM.
The fund has also attracted consumer products company Samsung Electronics, manufacturing company Applied Materials, semiconductor supplier SK Hynix, technology group Philips and insurance providers KBC Insurance and Belfius Insurance.
KPN Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of mobile telecoms firm KPN, and financial services firm BNP Paribas Fortis have also backed the fund, as have assorted high-net-worth individuals.
Imec.xpand will invest in early-stage companies but allocate a proportion of its fund to providing follow-on capital to promising ventures with a view of ensuring that startups can double down on technology development rather than worrying about a next funding round.
The fund will focus on technology startups where the research institute’s expertise and infrastructure can have an impact on their success. It will be managed by Frank Bulens, Peter Vanbekbergen, Cyril Vančura and Tom Vanhoutte.
Imec.xpand has already begun investing, contributing to a seed round of undisclosed size for Onera, a Netherlands-based wearable sleep tracking device spinout of Imec and R&D organisation Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, in June this year.