Innovation Industries invests in Holst Centre/TNO spin-off SALDtech

SALDtech announced today that it has closed an investment round with Innovation Industries, a leading high-tech VC fund. Holst Centre/TNO has invested over 10 years developing and perfecting a new technology solution to produce ultra-thin layers over large areas with world class performance in terms of uniformity and quality: Spatial Atomic Layer Deposition.

SALDtech, a spin-off of Holst Centre/TNO, targets the integration of this technology into the production lines of manufacturers of displays for mobile phones, tablets, TVs and more. This will help to finally enable the mass production of next generations of displays, such as flexible, foldable and rollable displays. While such displays have been talked about for many years, scalable production has not been possible - until now. SALDtech will use the investment to close a partnership deal with a major display manufacturing partner while also accelerating activities for the first equipment build.

SALDtech is focused on the development and commercialisation of Spatial Atomic Layer Deposition equipment for the display industry. Karl McGoldrick, Director of SALDtech states: “SALDtech combines the innovation strengths of TNO with the High Tech Systems building expertise of the Netherlands and specifically of Brainport (the Eindhoven region) to deliver an enabling solution to a multi-billion dollar display industry whilst creating business and jobs in the Netherlands. We are delighted to now have a top Dutch investor in the form of Innovation Industries on board to complete the package and make this happen”.

“We are very excited about our investment in SALDtech”, says Nard Sintenie, Partner at Innovation Industries. “SALDtech’s technology has the ability to change the way we are working and interacting with displays and thereby addresses a huge market.”

Founding institute TNO is delighted with the opportunity the financing round offers to SALDtech. “Innovation Industries' second investment in a TNO spin-off, after the investment in Nearfield Instruments last year, shows the potential of the research we are doing at Holst Centre and TNO. This investment is the next step in strengthening the Dutch economic position and Brainport in particular.” says Jaap Lombaers, Director at TNO.

Notes for the press:

About SALDtech
SALDtech BV is a spinoff from the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and is based in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. The company was founded in 2018 to further develop, build and sell commercial Spatial Atomic Layer Deposition (SALD) systems into the flat panel display industry. The SALDtech tool will help enable the production scale up of next generation display technologies. Related end product display markets include smartphones, tablets, TVs as well a new form factor displays in (autonomous) cars and on practically every surface.

Contact:
Karl McGoldrick (Director)
karl@saldtech.com
+31 6 1079 0222

About Innovation Industries
Innovation Industries is an independent venture capital fund that combines company-building and venture investment under one roof. Innovation Industries uses a market-driven approach to create long-term value in Dutch high technology start-up and scale-up companies. Our partnerships with all Dutch technical universities (Eindhoven, Twente, Delft and Wageningen) and applied research institutes (TNO) provide us with unparalleled access to knowledge and technologies. Innovation Industries has currently invested in ventures which are active in the nano- and microtechnology, semiconductor, food and agrotechnology, and medical technology fields. For further information about the portfolio companies please visit our portfolio.

The Innovation Industries Fund is supported by private and institutional investors such as PME and InnovFin Equity. InnovFin Equity with the financial backing of the European Union under Horizon 2020 Financial Instruments and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) set up under the Investment Plan for Europe. The purpose of EFSI is to help support financing and implementing productive investments in the European Union and to ensure increased access to financing.

Contact:
Tom van Vuren
tv@innovationindustries.com
+31629572741

About TNO
The Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) is an independent research organization. We connect people and knowledge to create innovations that boost the sustainable competitive strength of industry and well-being of society. Now and in the future. This is our mission and it is what drives us, the over 3.000 professionals at TNO, in our work every day. We work in collaboration with partners and focus on transitions or changes in nine social themes that we have identified together with our stakeholders.

About Holst Centre
Holst Centre is an independent R&D center that develops technologies for wireless autonomous sensor technologies and flexible electronics, in an open innovation setting and in dedicated research trajectories. A key feature of Holst Centre is its partnership model with industry and academia based around roadmaps and programs. It is this kind of cross-fertilization that enables Holst Centre to tune its scientific strategy to industrial needs. Holst Centre was set up in 2005 by imec (Flanders, Belgium) and TNO (The Netherlands) and is supported by local, regional and national governments. Located on High Tech Campus Eindhoven, Holst Centre benefits from, and contributes to, the state-of-the-art on-site facilities. Holst Centre has over 200 employees from some 28 nations and a commitment from more than 50 industrial partners.

Contact:
Caroline Ubachs
Caroline.ubachs@tno.nl
+31617106606

‍