PixelOptics Inc. raised $45 million to support the commercialization and launch of what the company calls the "world’s first electronic focusing" eyeglasses.
Wayne, Pa.-based holding company Safeguard Scientifics Inc. (NYSE:SFE) led the round, ponying up $25 million for equity in the company, the companies said.
Previous investors Delphi Ventures, The Carlyle Group, Longitude Capital and Stark Investments were syndicate partners in the round and made a total of $10 million in equity investments. Horizon Technology Finance Corp. (NSDQ:HRZN) provided $10 million in debt-based financing, according to the companies.
Safeguard CFO Stephen Zarrilli and life science group vice president Gary Kurtzman are slated to join PixelOptics’ board.
The Roanoke, Va.-based company makes eyeglasses called emPower! that contain an LCD-like layer sandwiched between two layers of glass. When stimulated by an electric current, the liquid crystals change structure and adjust the spectacles’ focus. The focus can be changed with a finger-operated switch or built-in accelerometer that detects movement for looking up or looking down and reading.
The glasses will be available in different "high fashion styles, shapes, sizes and colors" this spring, according to PixelOptics.
Here’s a roundup of the latest dealflow and investment news:
- DJO drums up $300 million in debt
DJO Global Inc. announced that its indirect wholly owned subsidiaries, DJO Finance LLC and DJO Finance Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of DJOFL completed a private offering of $300 million aggregate principal amount of 7.75% senior unsecured notes due 2018. The company also announced that it used $258.4 million of the proceeds from the notes offering today to complete the acquisition of Rikco International LLC, D/B/A Dr. Comfort.
Read more - MyHealthDIRECT secures $4 million in Series B
MyHealthDIRECT closed its Series B round with $4 million in funding from two healthcare venture capital firms, Arboretum Ventures and previous investor Chrysalis Ventures. The investments will be used to fund the company’s continued national growth through expansion of its sales, client services and technical resources.
Read more - St. Teresa raising $2 million for blood-clotting bandage
St. Teresa Medical has started raising $2 million, according to its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Minnesota company is commercializing a blood-clotting bandage named FASTCLOT, a soluble hemostatic bandage made out of electro-spun dextron, salmon thrombin and fibrinogen, writes MedCity News.
Read more - Cellular Dynamics captures $30 Million
Cellular Dynamics International Inc. (CDI), a manufacturer of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and tissue cells, has closed on a $30 million round. The Series B round was led by an entity affiliated with Tactics II Stem Cell Ventures, which along with its affiliates led CDI’s prior capital raises. Other investors in this financing round include Sam Zell’s Equity Group Investments LLC, Sixth Floor Investors LP and G Force Investments LLC.
Read more - Digital Healthcare Systems raises $1.1 million
Digital Healthcare Systems Inc. launched an equity funding round seeking to raise up to $2.4 million in an equity-based funding round, according to a regulatory filing. The San Diego-based company has so far pulled in $1.1 million from 11 unnamed investors. The company was founded in 2009 as My Aftercare.
Read more - HemoShear wins NIH grant for development of a rodent liver surrogate system
HemoShear LLC was awarded a Phase 1 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The SBIR grant will fund the development of a rodent liver surrogate system using HemoShear’s proprietary technology platform to mimic in vivo physiology by applying liver-specific blood flow shear stress forces (hemodynamics) to a combination of liver cell types.
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