908 Devices, a US-based producer of analytical devices for chemical analysis, closed an $11.6m series C round led by Saudi Arabia’s national oil company, Saudi Aramco, on Wednesday.
Saudi Aramco, which invested through its Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV) investment subsidiary, was joined by oil and gas management technology provider Schlumberger, Arch Venture Partners, Razor’s Edge Ventures and University of Tokyo Edge Capital (UTEC).
Founded in 2012, 908 manufactures a range of chemical analysis products from handheld chemical detection tools to footprint analysers for researchers.
The funding will support the development of additional products based on 908’s high-pressure mass spectrometry (HPMS) technology in the safety and security market while also making further steps into the oil and gas, environmental and life science industries.
Cory Steffek, Managing Director of SAEV (USA), said: “Our engineering and investment teams immediately recognized the unique analytical capabilities that 908 Devices’ HPMS technology can bring throughout the workflow of our petroleum and petrochemical operations.
“We view this technology as key to bringing analysis to the point of need within the energy sector.”
The round increased 908’s overall funding to $27.6m, $7m of which came from a 2013 series B round featuring Schlumberger, Arch Venture, Razor’s Edge and UTEC. In-Q-Tel, the venture capital fund set up to serve the US intelligence community, is also a past investor.