US-based fuel cell technology developer Lilliputian Systems, backed by companies including semiconductor maker Intel, is set to cease operations, according to the Boston Globe.
Lilluptian is planning to leave its Boston headquarters by September and has sold off most of its assets, including a portfolio of around 80 issued and pending patents that was acquired by a single undisclosed corporate investor.
The company is the creator of Nectar, a system that uses butane to fuel cartridges for small devices such as smartphones and digital cameras, but despite years of development the product never made it to market.
Lilliputian, a spin-out of MIT’s Microsystems Techology Lab, raised approximately $148.9m in funding after it was founded in 2001, according to SEC filings. Investors included Intel Capital, Intel’s corporate venturing subsidiary, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), Atlas Venture, Fairhaven Capital Partners, Stata Venture Partners and RockPort Capital.
The company received $40m as part of a planned $60m series C round in 2012 from Russian-state owned investment fund Rusnano and Intel Capital, after securng $27.9m in 2009 from KPCB, Atlas, Fairhaven, Rockport, Stata, Altira Group and Argonaut Private Equity.
The company tried to raise additional funding in March this year without success, chief executive Sohail Khan told the Globe, adding that the equity markets are currently proving difficult for companies operating in the hardware sector.