Lucent Technologies announced a new venture, called InPhase Technologies, which will develop high-performance holographic data storage media and systems.
For more information visit: www.inphase-technologies.com
Unedited press release follows:
INPHASE TECHNOLOGIES, NEW VENTURE FROM LUCENT TECHNOLOGIES, TO DEVELOP FAST, HIGH-CAPACITY HOLOGRAPHIC STORAGE TECHNOLOGY
Receives Investment from Three Venture Capital Firms and Imation Corp.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: TUESDAY, JANUARY 30, 2001 — MURRAY HILL, N.J. — Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU) today announced a new venture, called InPhase Technologies, that is developing high-performance holographic data storage media and systems with the potential to dramatically speed the evolution of the fast-moving entertainment, consumer products and information technology industries.
Using technology in recording media and systems developed at Bell Laboratories, the research and development arm of Lucent, InPhase Technologies will design holographic systems that combine high storage density with high-speed access and fast parallel transfer rates. The venture’s holographic products could vastly improve the performance of video, Internet, data warehousing and games applications, which demand ever-increasing performance of storage systems
“InPhase Technologies is aimed at satisfying the world’s insatiable need for more storage, delivered with ever-higher speed and convenience, ” said Nelson Diaz, president and chief executive officer of InPhase. “For Internet applications alone, industry estimates are that storage needs are doubling every 100 days. We believe that the exceptional benefits of InPhase’s technology will be welcome in many business and consumer markets.” Before joining InPhase, Diaz had been vice president and general manager for the StorageTek Corp., a multibillion dollar storage technology company.
Unlike other methods that record data only on the surface of a disk, holographic data storage allows recording through the entire thickness of the material, which allows for a huge increase in storage density. In addition, much higher transfer rates are achievable because the data is stored and recalled in “page format,” which can be accessed one million bits at a time.
“With InPhase Technologies, we have combined the right people, technology and financial backing to help commercialize holographic storage, and transform many markets that need its increased performance in storage technology,” said Tom Uhlman, president of Lucent’s New Ventures Group.
InPhase Technologies has received investments from the venture capital companies Signal Lake, Madison Dearborn Partners and Newton Technology Partners. Imation Corporation is a corporate investor.
“Signal Lake invests in companies in the photonics area that have defensible, leading-edge technologies that solve compelling problems,” said Bart Stuck, managing director of Signal Lake, the lead investor. “Signal Lake believes InPhase meets all of these criteria: world class people and technologies, and huge and compelling emerging markets for removable storage media.”
“Imation believes that holography is a revolutionary storage technology that can provide dramatic advances in both capacity and speed which are not possible with magnetic or conventional optical technologies,” said Steve Ladwig, president, Imation Data Storage and Information Management. “Our investment with InPhase is another example of Imation’s continuing support of technologies that show strong growth potential and the opportunity to transform the performance capabilities of storage.”
The development work at Bell Labs had been partially supported by The National Imagery and Mapping Agency, through a contract with the National Media Laboratory Strategic Alliance.
InPhase Technologies is located in its own 25,000-square-foot facility in Longmont, Colorado. It is poised to become a leader in the development and commercialization of high-density holographic recording media and systems. A team of Bell Labs researchers has joined the venture, which was created by Lucent’s New Ventures Group. More information is available at InPhase’s web site, http://www.inphase-technologies.com.
Photos and video about this technology are available on the Web at http://www.lucent.com/pressroom/inphase.html.
Signal Lake, with offices in Westport, Conn., and Boston, is focused on early stage investments in the broadband telecom and networking infrastructure markets. More information on Signal Lake can be found on its Web site at http://www.signallake.com.
Madison Dearborn Partners, with offices in Chicago and London, is a leading private equity firm that focuses on growth equity investments in the communications industry and management buyout transactions across a variety of industry sectors. For more information, visit Madison Dearborn’s Web site at http://www.mdcp.com.
Newton Technology Partners, headquartered in Seoul, Korea, is a venture capital partnership that focuses on the Asia-Pacific region. Newton invests in venture companies in Asia and the US that target distinct global demand in “efrastructure” underlying the new economy. For more information on Newton Technology Partners, visit http://www.newtontp.com.
Imation, headquartered in Oakdale, Minn., USA, supplies a variety of products and services worldwide for the information and image management industry, specializing in data storage and information management, color management and imaging solutions. Additional information about Imation is available on the Company’s Web site at http://www.imation.com.
Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., USA, designs and delivers the systems, software, silicon and services for next-generation communications networks for service providers and enterprises. Backed by the research and development of Bell Labs, Lucent focuses on high-growth areas such as broadband and mobile Internet infrastructure; communications software; communications semiconductors and optoelectronics; Web-based enterprise solutions that link private and public networks; and professional network design and consulting services. For more information on Lucent Technologies, visit its Web site at http://www.lucent.com.
For more information, call InPhase Technologies at (720) 841-7831.