InPhase Technologies announced that Art Rancis has been named CEO of the company.
According to the statement, InPhase Technologies is a developer of holographic data storage recording media and systems. Based in Longmont, Colorado, InPhase was founded in 2000.
For more information visit: www.inphase-tech.com
Unedited press release follows:
INPHASE TECHNOLOGIES NAMES ART RANCIS CEO
Storage Industry Veteran to Direct Commercial Launch of Holographic Product
FOR RELEASE ON: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2010
LONGMONT CO – InPhase Technologies, the leader in holographic storage, today announced that Art Rancis has been named CEO of the company. He will lead the commercial entry for the industry’s first holographic product, which InPhase has been developing for the past decade. Kevin Curtis, co-founder of InPhase who was named interim CEO in March, will step down from his post.
Rancis joined InPhase in 2004 as vice president of sales, after having served as vice president and general manager of Commercial Products at Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. He previously served as CEO of Racom Systems, after having run the Product Innovation Laboratory for Samsung Electronics and having served as a vice president for Sony Electronics, where he led multiple product and business development initiatives, including his role as vice president of U.S. business development and technology coordination. He began his career at StorageTek, in international sales and marketing. He holds a B.A. degree in broadcast communications from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Signal Lake, a leading investor in next-generation technology and computer communications companies, acquired the majority stake in InPhase in March. Signal Lake was the founding lead investor in InPhase, which it helped spin out of Bell Laboratories in conjunction with the then-Lucent New Ventures Group in December, 2000. The company had raised more than $94 million in equity over five rounds of funding, and had produced the world’s first working prototype holographic storage system, dubbed Tapestry™, in addition to winning numerous industry accolades and awards.
“We have reached a critical milestone in the restructuring of InPhase, where we can now execute a clear path to commercialization for the industry’s first holographic storage product,” said Rancis. “The customers and partners that have supported this effort will be rewarded with the next generation of optical, high-density storage.”
InPhase will concentrate on delivering a high-density archival storage product for customers ranging from film and television studios to corporate enterprises and medical institutions. Initial InPhase customers have included the likes of Turner Broadcasting and Ikegami Electronics.
Curtis, who founded the company with former Bell Labs colleagues Bill Wilson and Lisa Dhar, helped InPhase amass the industry’s most comprehensive intellectual property portfolio related to holographic storage. He and his co-founders, along with Adrian Hill and Mark Ayres, recently authored what is believed to be the first comprehensive tome on holographic storage, ‘Holographic Data Storage: From Theory to Practical Systems,’ published by Wiley.
“We have believed in the InPhase team for many years, and are now focused on the final phase of product and manufacturing deliverables prior to launching the holographic storage market,” said Bart Stuck, managing director of Signal Lake Ventures. “As we stated earlier this year, we have created a go-to-market plan that will enable us to capitalize on years of breakthrough scientific research in a long sought-after goal: commercial holographic storage.”
About InPhase Technologies
InPhase Technologies is the leading developer of holographic data storage recording media and systems. Based in Longmont, Colorado, InPhase was founded in 2000.
About Signal Lake
Founded in 1998, Signal Lake invests in early-stage computer, communications, telecommunications and network infrastructure companies. The firm has capital commitments of more than $275 million over five funds. Signal Lake is headquartered in Westport, Connecticut, and in Boston, Massachusetts and is comprised of leading technology investors and advisors.