Business briefs

30 May 2003

Including news from Novalux, VISX, Pulnix, Symagery Microsystems and more.

•  Symagery Microsystems, a Canadian developer of smart cameras based on CMOS image sensors, has landed USD5.6 million in a second round of funding. “This year, Symagery will launch a variety of advanced, highly integrated smart camera components that allow electronic systems manufacturers to automate the workplace,” said Michael Keenan, the firm’s vice-president of marketing.

•  The Spire Corporation, a US maker of optoelectronics such as solar cells, has acquired Bandwidth Semiconductor from Stratos Lightwave for an undisclosed sum of cash. Bandwidth is a III-V semiconductor foundry based in New Hampshire, US, that manufactures lasers and radiation detectors. “We intend to expand Bandwidth’s biophotonics activities to support Spire’s important life sciences initiative,” commented Roger Little, Spire’s CEO.

•  Laser vision correction specialist VISX, US, has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its wavefront-guided system, called CustomVue. The new system maps higher-order aberrations in individual eyes, as well as the usual characteristics of nearsightedness and astigmatism.

•  Semiconductor laser company Novalux, which is based in Sunnyvale, California, has secured an additional USD16 million in venture capital funding. The company, which developed extended-cavity surface-emitting lasers emitting at 488 nm, had opted for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March this year.

•  JAI, a Danish imaging firm, has acquired Pulnix America, a Californian-based CCD camera specialist for an undisclosed sum. “By this move JAI and Pulnix will be among the world’s biggest suppliers of camera solutions for the global imaging market,” said Jorgen Andersen, JAI’s CEO.