Michigan spin-out sees series A shining through

Arborlight, a spin-out of Michigan University, has raised $1.7m in series A funding.

The round was led by the Michigan Angel Fund (MAF), established by economic development firm Ann Arbor Spark and financially supported by state-backed Michigan Economic Develop Corp. Michigan Pre-Seed Capital and Ann Arbor Spark also supported the round.

The US-based firm, a 2010 participant in Ann Arbor Spark’s entrepreneur’s bootcamp, previously raised $500,000 in seed funding from Michigan Pre-Seed Capital and angel backers in 2013 shortly after leaving Michigan University’s accelerator.

Arborlight has developed Lightwell, a light fixture that acts like a skylight but in fact provides artificial light, matching the position of the sun, its colour, intensity, and real-time movements throughout the day.

Michael Forbis, Arborlight CEO, said: “The evidence supporting the positive health and cognitive effects of dynamic daylight conditions in work, school, medical and retail environments is overwhelming. The demand for daylight in spaces deprived of traditional windows and skylights is a multi-billion dollar opportunity. With the support of our investment community, Arborlight is meeting this substantial demand with its much acclaimed Daylight Emulation technology for commercial and home applications. These additional resources will enable the company to expand the marketing, sales, operations and engineering teams immediately.”