Belgium-based nanoelectronics research institute Imec closed its early-stage and growth fund, Imec.xpand, at €117m ($135m) today with backing from a range of corporate limited partners.
The LPs included electronics manufacturers Samsung and Philips, semiconductor technology producers Applied Materials and SK Hynix, insurance firms KBC and Belfius, and BNP Paribas Fortis and KPN Ventures, subsidiaries of financial services firm BNP Paribas and telecoms company KPN respectively.
Imec itself contributed capital, as did the Flemish government and its investment vehicle, PMV, state-owned regional development agency BOM, Belgian government-owned investment firm SFPI-FPIM and several unnamed universities and high-net-worth individuals.
Imec.xpand will back early-stage companies but allocate a proportion of its fund to providing follow-on capital to promising ventures, with a view to ensuring startups are able to double down on technology development rather than worrying about their next funding round.
The fund will focus on technology startups where the research institute’s expertise and infrastructure can have an impact on their success. It will be managed by Frank Bulens, Peter Vanbekbergen, Cyril Van?ura and Tom Vanhoutte.
Imec.xpand has already begun investing, contributing to a seed round of undisclosed size for Onera, a Netherlands-based wearable sleep tracking device developer spun out of Imec and R&D organisation Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, in June 2018.
– The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.