Boston-Power Adds $55 Million in Growth Capital

WESTBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Boston-Power, Inc., the rapidly growing provider of next-generation Lithium-ion batteries, today announced $55 million in new funding.

“Manufacturers and their customers are searching for more dependable, longer lasting, environmentally sustainable batteries”

Boston-Power will use the new growth capital to scale manufacturing, sales, marketing, and research and development to meet strong global demand for Sonata Lithium-ion batteries. Initially targeting notebook computers, Sonata will come to the market in early 2009 through a relationship with HP, the world’s number one provider of notebook PCs. The company’s products could eventually be used to power a wide spectrum of end-applications – from consumer electronics devices to e-bikes, hybrid and electric vehicles (EV/HEV) and other forms of transportation. Early versions of products addressing these markets have already been developed.

The Series D round was led by Foundation Asset Management (FAM) and included existing blue-chip investors Oak Investment Partners, Venrock, GGV Capital and Gabriel Venture Partners. Concurrent with the investment, Venrock Partner Tony Evnin has assumed chairmanship of the board. Among the world’s most well-funded companies in clean tech and energy storage, Boston-Power has attracted $125 million in investment since being founded in 2005.

“Manufacturers and their customers are searching for more dependable, longer lasting, environmentally sustainable batteries,” said Boston-Power Founder and CEO Christina Lampe-Onnerud. “Boston-Power identified this opportunity early on. We’ve moved rapidly to develop game-changing products and have established mass manufacturing capabilities with unique quality systems that may inspire the top companies in this industry. This new funding will help us expand our presence significantly in the notebook PC industry. It will also enable us to respond even more quickly to the opportunities in other high-growth markets, especially transportation.”

“We are happy to invest in Boston-Power, a clean tech company with a next-generation technology,” said Lars Wedenborn, CEO of Foundation Asset Management. “Together with its founder and CEO, management team and other owners, we aim to develop Boston-Power into a leading battery company.”

“This investment is a phenomenal endorsement of Boston-Power’s disruptive technology,” said Bandel Carano, Managing Partner, Oak Investment Partners. “Boston-Power’s Sonata product has been objectively verified by HP. This marks the first time that a U.S. battery developer has secured the world’s top provider of laptops as a customer. The breakthroughs inherent in Boston-Power’s batteries – such as 300 percent more cycle life and stringent environmental sustainability accreditations – will be compelling as the company expands into HEVs and other forms of transportation.”

On related matters, Boston-Power has expanded its leadership team with the addition of Sally Bament as vice president of marketing. The widely respected high tech industry veteran brings to her role 25 years of marketing, communications, product management and partner development experience earned while serving in executive-level positions with companies ranging from startups to multibillion dollar market leaders.

Boston-Power’s Sonata: The Next Generation of Li-ion Batteries

Sonata is the most environmentally sustainable, longest lasting, fastest charging and safest Li-ion battery available. That translates to longer and more usable power – like-new performance for three years versus current batteries that start to fade in just three to six months. Sonata’s “drop-in” design enables it to be used with existing notebook computers – requiring no design changes on the part of notebook computer original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Sonata’s patent-pending, whole-system design makes it capable of benefiting a wide range of end-applications. As a result, total cost of ownership benefits inherent in notebook computer batteries prove increasingly impressive in cases where even greater power is required.

About Foundation Asset Management

Foundation Asset Management (FAM) manages the assets of the Wallenberg Foundations. FAM is a major shareholder (directly and through advisory agreements with the Wallenberg Foundations) in a number of Nordic listed companies. By being a committed, long-term and value-adding owner FAM aims to generate good total returns which in turn will enable the Wallenberg Foundations to fund scientific research and education. A smaller share of the portfolio is allocated to alternative investments, including private equity and venture capital. For more information, please visit www.fam.se.

About Oak Investment Partners

Established in 1978, Oak Investment Partners is a venture capital firm with a strong track record as a multi-stage investor. Their primary investment focus is on high growth opportunities in communications, information technology, consumer internet, new media, financial services information technology, semiconductors, healthcare services, clean energy, and retail. Oak concentrates on building long-term relationships with experienced management teams to develop successful companies that deliver consistent performance over time. These include 2Wire, Aquantive (acquired by Microsoft), Athenahealth, CBORD Group (acquired by Roper Industries), Compaq, Fastclick (acquired by ValueClick), Genzyme, Gmarket, Inktomi (acquired by Yahoo!), Parametric Technology Corporation, PictureTel, Polycom, Seagate Technologies, SMIC, Sybase, Synaptics, Synopsys, TeleAtlas, Virata, Wireless Facilities (WFII), etc. For more information, please visit www.oakvc.com.

About Venrock

Venrock is a premier venture capital firm with offices in Palo Alto, New York, Cambridge, MA, and Israel. Originally established as the venture capital arm of the Rockefeller family, Venrock continues the eight-decade tradition of partnering with entrepreneurs to establish successful, enduring companies. Having invested $2.3 billion in 430 companies resulting in 124 IPOs over the past 40 years, Venrock’s investment returns place it among the top tier venture capital firms that have achieved consistently superior performance. With a primary focus on technology, healthcare and energy, portfolio companies have included Adify, Adnexus Therapeutics, Apple Computer, Centocor, Check Point Software, DoubleClick, Gilead Sciences, Idec Pharmaceuticals, Illumina, Intel, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Sirna Therapeutics, StrataCom, and Vontu. For more information, please visit Venrock’s website at www.venrock.com.

About GGV Capital

GGV capital is a leader in expansion-stage venture capital investments in the United States and Asia. Focused on driving expansion-stage innovation worldwide, GGV Capital’s highly diverse team manages over $1 billion from its offices in Silicon Valley, Shanghai and Singapore. The firm invests across a range of sectors in information technology, services and healthcare, as well as the consumer growth sector in China. GGV Capital has provided capital and helped accelerate international expansion for its worldwide portfolio of high-growth companies, particularly in the U.S. and China. For more information, please visit www.ggvc.com.

About Gabriel Venture Partners

Gabriel Venture Partners® is an early-stage venture capital firm committed to fostering innovation by actively assisting entrepreneurs in technology and technology-enabled businesses. Gabriel seeks investment opportunities in capital-efficient companies that have the potential to be market leaders in the fields of digital media, mobile, cleantech and disruptive technology. Gabriel is based in Silicon Valley and has over $260 million under management. Gabriel’s investment team consists of seasoned technology entrepreneurs and industry executives, each with international operating experience and strong domain expertise. Current investments include many disruptive companies, including Aurora BioFuels, Boston-Power, Chegg, NextG Networks, PlantSense, STEP Labs and YLX. Some of Gabriel’s exits include Encentuate (acquired by IBM), NeoPath (acquired by Cisco), NetScaler (acquired by Citrix), Iridigm (acquired by Qualcomm) and Placeware (acquired by Microsoft). For more information on Gabriel, visit www.gabrielvp.com.

About Boston-Power

Boston-Power, Inc. is an award-winning provider of next-generation Lithium-ion batteries. Designed to power a wide range of end-applications, its flagship offering, Sonata, is a notebook computer battery. Founded in 2005 and with more than 40 patents filed, Boston-Power is led by Founder and CEO Dr. Christina Lampe-Onnerud, an internationally recognized strategy and technology advisor to the top players in the portable power and energy storage industries. To date, the company has raised $125 million in venture funding from Foundation Asset Management, Oak Investment Partners, Venrock, GGV Capital and Gabriel Venture Partners. Boston-Power is headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts and has Six Sigma-level mass manufacturing operations in Greater China.

“Boston-Power®” and “Sonata®” are trademarks of Boston-Power, Inc. Other brand names or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.