Saphlux, a recently launched Yale University spinout which is looking to design next generation light emitting diodes (LEDs), has secured $200,000 in a seed round supported by Yale through its Innovation fund.
Half of the $200,000 comes from Elm Street Ventures, while the remainder is made up with support from Connecticut Innovations, First Niagara Bank, and Yale’s YEI Innovation Fund. The cash adds to a $1m investment from China-based angel investment consortium ZhenFund, made earlier in the year.
The spinout is working on a semi-polar LED chip invented at Yale which could improve lightbulb efficiency, and lower prices for LED lightbulbs from its current price of around $10 to $1. The US-based firm is also the first to use one of the new simplified licence agreements offered by Yale’s Office of Cooperative Research (OCR), its tech transfer unit, which are designed to simplify the licensing process and tilt the odds in favour of a spinout.
John Puziss, OCR’s licensing director, said: “We’re excited to roll out the Startup License with Saphlux as a first licensee. The Startup License will be offered to an increasing number of YEI companies in coming months and is designed to be so attractive that no negotiating is necessary, sparing startups time and expense.”
