BinOptics attracts $13.3M in funding

BinOptics Corp. says it has received $13.3 million in new investment. The Ithaca, NY-based manufacturer of lasers and monolithically integrated optoelectronic components will use the funding to continue expansion of its product lines and to accelerate development of new products.

Five new investors participated in this round: Advantage Capital Partners, Enhanced Capital Partners, Gefinor Ventures, Onondaga Venture Capital Fund, and Rand Capital (NASDAQ: RAND). Existing investors ArrowPath Venture Partners, Cayuga Venture Fund, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and FA Technology Ventures also participated.

"This funding enhances our ability to meet strong demand for our current 2.5-Gbps and 10-Gbps distributed feedback (DFB) laser products," said BinOptics Chairman and CEO Alex Behfar. "We look forward to continuing to provide the most innovative and highest value products in the industry to our customers around the world."

"Advantage Capital Partners is pleased to support BinOptics and its impressive array of unique products," said Reid Hutchins, Advantage Capital senior vice president, who joins the board.

Rand Capital’s president, Allen "Pete" Grum added, "BinOptics has great potential to create new jobs here in upstate New York, another welcome outcome of this funding." The business currently employs over 50 people, with plans to hire additional engineers and technicians in 2012.

BinOptics, founded in 2000, uses proprietary processes for manufacturing lasers and integrated photonic devices at low cost (see "BinOptics intros 1310-nm Horizontal-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser"). In recent years, the company has established a global presence by shipping more than 25 million Fabry-Perot (FP) and DFB lasers into high-growth markets such as EPON and GPON.

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