Crocus Technology Raises 11.5M Euros to Develop MRAM Technology.French Development Agency Also Awards 3M Euros Funding SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Crocus Technology, a premier developer of Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM (Magnetic RAM) A non-volatile, random access memory technology that is designed to initially replace flash memory and, potentially, DRAM memory. MRAM uses magnetic, thin film elements on a silicon substrate that can be built on the same chip with the logic circuits. ), today announced that it has raised a combined 11.5 million Euros in its second round of funding. This round hailed full participation from Crocus' current investors: AGF AGF Assurances Générales de France AGF Army Ground Forces AGF American Growth Fund (mutual fund) AGF American General Finance AGF Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Grossforschungseinrichtungen AGF Anatomic Gift Foundation AGF Assume Good Faith Private Equity, CDC See Control Data, century date change and Back Orifice. CDC - Control Data Corporation Innovation, NanoDimension, Sofinnova, and Ventech, raising 8.5M[euro]. The company was also awarded an additional 3M[euro] in funding from OSEO, a French agency supporting advanced R&D programs, for a total of 11.5M[euro] to further the development and bring into production its proprietary MRAM technology as a scalable high density non volatile memory A memory that does not hold its contents without power. A computer's main memory, which is made up of dynamic RAM or static RAM chips, loses its content immediately upon loss of power. Newer types of memory are expected to obsolete volatile memory in the future (see MRAM and NRAM). solution with high speed, infinite endurance and low power. Crocus' proprietary MRAM technology solves all the well-known problems encountered in earlier MRAM implementations. The company's technology has demonstrated on silicon its stability, reliability, data retention, endurance, and scalability, while exhibiting high speed, low power dissipation, and excellent resistance to external perturbation perturbation (pŭr'tərbā`shən), in astronomy and physics, small force or other influence that modifies the otherwise simple motion of some object. The term is also used for the effect produced by the perturbation, e.g. . Crocus also recently qualified its complete manufacturing environment for the development and rapid prototyping Building a part one layer at a time using a method of additive fabrication such as 3D printing. Such parts are used for concept modeling to determine if the product design meets the customer's expectations. of MRAM. These achievements have positioned Crocus as one of the very few companies in the world capable of fully integrating advanced MRAM onto CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Pronounced "c-moss." The most widely used integrated circuit design. It is found in almost every electronic product from handheld devices to mainframes. . With this additional funding, Crocus will complete the technology development necessary to support its initial product introduction. "This round of funding will enable Crocus to move closer to actually delivering on the awesome promise of MRAM. With our first products we will bring a whole new memory paradigm to a number of high volume markets," said Jean Pierre Braun, founder and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Crocus Technology. "While a few companies are busy announcing long term development plans, Crocus is moving quickly toward delivering this groundbreaking MRAM technology solution." OSEO is a French government agency chartered with funding advanced R&D programs. The agency's investment budget for 2008 is 500 M[euro], focusing heavily on, but not restricted to, high technology and life science projects. "Crocus is the kind of company we like to help," said Dr. Francis Martin, member of OSEO for the Rhone Alpes region where Crocus is headquartered. "It is a disruptive technology, developed in one of France's most prestigious laboratories, addressing a very large market, and ready to move into production." About Magnetic Random Access Memory MRAM's unique characteristics make it particularly suitable to a wide variety of telecommunication, networking, computing and handheld applications currently using SRAM See static RAM. SRAM - static random-access memory and/or flash memory technology. It is the only scalable new memory technology providing non-volatility, unlimited-write-endurance, high-density, and high-speed. It is particularly well-suited to applications requiring high data reliability and high performance, and has the unique potential of becoming the universal embedded memory technology for systems-on-chip devices. About Crocus Crocus Technology is an early-stage developer of MRAM technology for dense, non-volatile, high-speed, scalable memories. Its MRAM technology was conceived in the Grenoble-based Spintec laboratory, a world leading R&D center in Spintronics affiliated with two famous French labs, CEA CEA carcinoembryonic antigen. CEA abbr. carcinoembryonic antigen CEA (Carcinoembryonic antigen) and CNRS CNRS Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (National Center for Scientific Research, France) CNRS Centro Nacional de Referencia Para El Sida (Argentinean National Reference Center for Aids) . Crocus Technology MRAM technology is covered by a comprehensive patent portfolio. The company licenses its technology for standalone and embedded chip applications in a wide variety of telecommunication, networking, storage, computing and handheld applications. Crocus is backed by VC firms AGF Private Equity, CDC Innovation, NanoDimension, Sofinnova Partners, Sofinnova Ventures, and Ventech and has operations in Grenoble, France, and Sunnyvale, California. |
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