Nanochip, a start-up based in Fremont, California, raised $14 million in venture financing for its development of advanced microelectro-mechanical systems (MEMS) silicon data storage chips.
Nanochip is developing a new class of ultra-high-capacity storage chips enabling the storage of tens of gigabytes (GB) of data per chip, or the equivalent of many high-definition feature-length videos.
By coupling MEMS with nano-probe array technology that exceeds the expected limits of conventional lithography used in present semiconductor memory, Nanochip said its forthcoming chips will meet the growing demand for cost-effective, removable and rewritable data storage in a range of computing, server and consumer electronics products.
Nanochip’s first products are expected to exceed 100 GB per chip set, reaching terabytes (TB) in the future, and at a substantially lower cost compared with flash memory solutions.
In conjunction with Intel Capital and JK&B Capital, both investors in earlier rounds, this round was led by an additional world-class investment company. The financing round will allow Nanochip to complete development of its first prototypes later this year to support design verification testing and limited customer sampling in 2009.
Nanochip has been granted seven U.S. patents for its technology, and has applied for 34 more.http://www.nanochip.com
