Micro Power Meets Growing Demands for Portable Power

May 18, 2004 2:30 PM
Edited by PETech Staff

Micro Power Electronics Inc. recently secured $9 million in new funding from Sierra Ventures, a Sand Hill Road venture capital firm, and Silicon Valley Bank, the primary subsidiary of Silicon Valley Bancshares. The investment will enable Micro Power to accelerate its national expansion and broaden its research and development efforts to meet the growing power requirements in the portable medical, rugged handheld computing and field instrument markets.

"Power has become the limiting factor in the development of new generation mobile devices, fueling the need for high performance battery systems that are optimally designed and manufactured for the target device," said Jeff Drazan, general partner for Sierra Ventures. "The investment we have made in Micro Power reflects our confidence that the company is in a unique leadership position as the market transitions beyond an assembly industry to a high-value design and manufacturing industry. "Micro Power's sound market strategy coupled with its diverse management team, advanced development processes and years of battery application experience makes this an extremely appealing venture."

Today's life-saving and mission-critical portable devices, such as automatic external defibrillators, RFID readers and mobile diagnostic analyzers, require battery power packs to be smaller and lighter, yet more powerful. Micro Power has developed thousands of battery systems and smart packs, including those using advanced Lithium-ion cells, and its expertise extends across the full breadth of advanced portable power solutions development. Micro Power battery systems are found in the world's leading portable mission-critical devices.

"Our customers are pushing the limits in mobile systems design and they rely on our nearly 20 years of portable power knowledge to help them provide the safest, most durable and best-performing competitive products in their industries," said Greg Love, chief executive officer of Micro Power. "Sierra Ventures' aggressive focus on the power market, as evidenced by their backing of Valere Power, combined with their reputation for guiding companies to success, makes it an ideal partner for Micro Power."

As part of the funding, Drazan and Ben Yu, a venture partner from Sierra Ventures, will join Micro Power's board of directors. Ridge Capital Partners, L.L.C. continues as an investor in Micro Power. Cascadia Capital, L.L.C. served as Micro Power's financial advisor in this transaction.

For more information, visit www.micro-power.com or www.sierraventures.com.

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