Applied Materials grows solar business, buys Advent Solar
Applied Materials has gobbled up all of the assets of Advent Solar, a photovoltaic maker with patented module assembly processes said to be more streamlined and efficient. The deal is yet another example of Applied Materials’ sprint to define itself as a formidable force in the solar industry.
The Sunnyvale, Calif., chip equipment maker has seen a lot of solar action recently. At the end of October, it opened its $250 million Solar Technology Center in… Continue Reading
Applied Materials lowers forecast, warns of chip equipment slowdown
Applied Materials reported this morning that chip equipment sales will be down about 35 percent to $1.33 billion for its first fiscal quarter ended Jan. 25.
The world’s biggest provider of chip manufacturing equipment said that preliminary figures show sales at the low end of its previous forecast, which estimated a 25 percent to 35 percent sales decline. The company now expects a loss per share of 9 cents to 11 cents. Analysts had been expecting… Continue Reading
Roundup: Intel cuts estimates, iPhone games taking off and more
Here’s the latest action:
Intel cuts fourth quarter estimates — The chip maker says sales could fall by as much as 19 percent, and things look similarly bleak for chip companies Applied Materials and National Semiconductor.
IPhone takes on Nintendo and Sony in portable gaming — Among other things, the iPhone tempts developers with lowered distribution costs. There are almost 2,000 games already available in Apple’s App Store.
Google joins smart grid group — The group, called the Demand Response and… Continue Reading
Indian renewables startup Kotak Urja raises $8M from Kleiner Perkins, Sherpalo
Kotak Urja, a diversified Indian startup that is planning solar power installations as well as making some solar equipment, has raised $8 million from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Sherpalo Ventures and Applied Materials.
The investment is Kleiner Perkins’ first renewable energy move in India, according to VCCircle. Rather than the tech-heavy companies that the venture firm typically invests in at home, Kotak’s business is weighted more toward reselling or installing existing products in a growing… Continue Reading
Micro-inverters on the rise with Enphase funding
To a layman, electricity seems like a fairly straightforward proposition: It flows like water through wires and into gadgets, end of story. But the real story is a bit more complex, which is why Enphase Energy, a company that makes a device called micro-inverters for solar panels, has raised a new $15 million financing.
An inverter converts direct current (DC), which is what solar panels produce, into alternating current (AC), the type of electricity you’re usually… Continue Reading
Low cost, super-efficient solar cells? Newly funded, Wakonda Technologies says it’s possible
In the solar cell market, there are three broad categories. Thin-film manufacturers produce cells that convert little of the sun’s energy to electricity, but are dirt cheap. Opposite thin-film, companies like Spectrolab and Emcore make highly efficient, but very expensive cells. Between are the standard solar photovoltaic makers, with average efficiencies, and average prices.
The result is a pricing balance that gives each group a slice of the overall market. But what if it were possible… Continue Reading
BridgeLux, another clean-light company — but faces lawsuit
BridgeLux, maker of chips for “light emitting diodes” that are environmentally cleaner lighting sources than standard lightbulbs, has raised a $23 million third round of funding, according to VentureWire (subscription required).
It joins the rush of other LED companies, including D.lightdesign (coverage), Quanlight (coverage), Intematix (raised $25 million from DFJ and Crosslink), Group IV Semiconductor ($8.2M from Khosla Ventures and BDC Capital). Yet another company, publicly traded Cree, has sued BridgeLux for patent infringement.
The BridgeLux round… Continue Reading
Infinera, optical networking company, files for IPO, at long last
Infinera, the Sunnyvale, Calif. fiber-optic equipment company that says its technology is superior to existing offerings, has filed to go public, submitting its registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission to raise about $150 million.
It isn’t profitable, but sales are showing momentum.
It brought in $44.3 million during the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared to just $4.1 million for all of 2005. The company had losses of $89.1 million for last year.
There’s a good summary of… Continue Reading