The LED technology developer, based on research conducted at Yale University, has raised $5m from investors led by Leyard.

Saphlux, a LED technology spinout of Yale University, has obtained $5m in funding from a consortium led by Leyard, an outdoor LED display producer, with a $3.5m commitment.

Blockchain platform NXT, ZhenFund and Elm Street Ventures provided the remaining $1.5m.

Founded in 2014, Saphlux is developing low-cost, high-efficiency and high-power LEDs and lasers that are compatible with most existing applications.

The company was co-founded by professor Jung Han, professor of electrical engineering and chair of Yale’s Electrical Engineering Department, and Chen Chen, a student at the time. They met through Yale Entrepreneurial Institute’s Technology Commercialisation Program.

The funding will go towards the creation of a pilot manufacturing facility.

Saphlux previously received $200,000 in 2015 a funding round led by Elm Street Ventures, with participation by Connecticut Innovations, owned by the state of Connecticut, financial services firm First Niagara Bank and Yale’s YEI Innovation Fund.

ZhenFund had injected $1m earlier that same year.

Chen said: “We see a lot of strategic value by working with Leyard, especially since they are the end user. They can share a lot of feedback from the market, and they can create huge synergy since they have invested a lot in the high-power lighting and display applications in both the US and China.”