14 May 2003 Zurich, Switzerland Lightwave -- Optoelectronic component manufacturer Avalon Photonics Ltd. today announced the successful completion of a $5.5-million second round of venture capital funding.

Vision Capital led the investment, which also included existing investors Viventures and the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microelectronics (CSEM), and two new investors, Venture Incubator from Switzerland and innotech from Germany. The funding will allow the company to reinforce its position as a leading supplier of state-of-the-art, high-speed, and singlemode Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs).

In September 2000, Avalon Photonics Ltd. spun-off from CSEM. The Avalon Photonics team has been developing and producing single- and multimode VCSELs for the datacom and sensing markets for more than nine years.