UbiQD founder and CEO Hunter McDaniel, pictured with jars of the New Mexico firm's quantum-dot materials. [Image: UbiQD]
Quantum dot (QD) technology company UbiQD, USA, announced the completion of a series B round of venture funding worth US$20 million. Spun out of Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA, in 2014 and still based in New Mexico, the company says that the funding will be used to “to scale up manufacturing, expand R&D capabilities, strengthen intellectual property, enhance marketing efforts and support working capital needs,” as well as making significant upgrades to its facilities in Los Alamos.
“A key milestone in UbiQD’s growth roadmap includes plans to build the globe's largest and most efficient QD supply chain,” the company noted in a press release.
The future of quantum dots
UbiQD (pronounced “ubiquity”) develops and manufactures advanced materials for quantum dots—nanoparticles of semiconductor material that can be used to manipulate color and light. According to the company, its QDs emit light with near-perfect efficiency and are both safe and affordable, thanks to its use of sustainable, cadmium-free materials and a scalable manufacturing process. The approach is based around copper indium sulfide, which is nontoxic and can be fabricated at low cost.
The company is targeting a wide range of sectors for its nanomaterials, including agriculture, solar energy and security, as well as consumer products. Its “UbiGro” luminescent films, for instance, shift UV and blue light into orange and red wavelengths, which are most efficiently absorbed by chlorophyll, to drive plant growth and productivity. The completion of the series B round follows on the heels of UbiQD’s acquisition of BlueDot Photonics, a University of Washington spinout that develops perovskites to enhance solar module performance—another of UbiQD’s target applications.
“Every major advancement in the history of humankind has been underpinned by materials innovation but unlocked by manufacturing scale, from the iron age to the semiconductor age,” said UbiQD founder and CEO Hunter McDaniel in a press release. “Quantum dots provide an excellent example of this, being at the heart of an ongoing nano- and quantum-technological revolution.”
The company says that the new investment “highlights investors’ growing confidence in UbiQD’s innovative solutions and market potential.”
A cash infusion
The series B round was led by Phoenix Venture Partners (PVP), with participation from Builders VC, Azura Group, Builders Vision, Stout Street Capital, Seraph Partners, Scout Ventures, New Mexico Vintage Fund and others. The company says that the new investment “highlights investors’ growing confidence in UbiQD’s innovative solutions and market potential.” PVP partner Sheng Peng noted, “From agriculture to solar to security, [UbiQD has] built real traction with major industry players, turning scientific innovation into commercial success.
The latest funding follows the completion of a series A round worth US$7 million in 2020, which was led by Scout Ventures and Keiretsu Forum. “This is far more than a scientific milestone—it’s a material breakthrough with transformative commercial potential,” said Jim Kim, General Partner at Builders VC. “With accelerating customer adoption, a new factory underway in New Mexico, and industrial-scale production on the near horizon, the outlook is incredibly bright.”