ITHACA -- Investors have poured $28.5 million into Kionix Inc., a
Tompkins County manufacturer of microscopic mechanical and
electrical systems used in automotive, consumer electronics and
biotechnology applications.
The financial boost is believed to be the largest ever venture/
private equity investment in Tompkins County. Both Cornell
University and the Cayuga Venture Fund helped find investors for
Kionix. The firm was founded in 1993 by Cornell graduates Greg
Galvin and Tim Davis and is anchored in research conducted at
Cornell over a 10-year period, a statement from the company said.
Top among the investors is Lurie Investments of Chicago, the
venture capital and private equity investment arm of the Ann and
Robert H. Lurie Foundation, a Chicago-based foundation that had $26
million in assets in 2002. Other investors who previously had a
stake in Kionix include the Cayuga Venture Fund, CMI International
Investment Corp., Integrated Acquisition and Development
Corporation, Rocktech Inc. and a number of individual investors.
"I am delighted that Cornell has played a major part in the
remarkable success of Kionix," said Jeffrey S. Lehman, president of
Cornell University. "It is an example of the university's commitment
to economic development and illustrates the potential and promise of
such partnerships for the benefit of the people of the state of New
York and beyond."
Philip Proujansky, managing principal of Cayuga Venture Fund
based in Ithaca, said the Kionix effort is a model for university
technology transfer.
"Kionix is a demonstration of the remarkable potential resulting
from the blending of intellectual resources from a world-class
university with access to local and regional capital resources and
business advisors together with a skilled and talented management
team," Proujansky said.
Other new investors include Advantage Capital Partners, which
invests in promising small businesses as part of Certified Capital
Company programs in New York and other states; Allen & Company
Inc., a New York investment banking firm; Enhanced Capital Partners,
a national investment firm with geographically-focused funds
investing in small and emerging companies, the Kionix investment
having been made by its New York Certified Capital Company Fund;
Gefinor Ventures, a venture capital firm providing capital,
guidance, and strategic support to early-stage companies with
innovative products and services; Onondaga Venture Capital
Fund,whose focus is on early-stage investments in New York State;
Rand Capital SBIC, LP whose investment efforts are focused largely
on privately-held companies in Western New York; Tompkins Trustco
Inc. and additional private investors.
Kionix was acquired by Calient Networks in San Jose, Calif., in
2000 to access its advanced photonic-switch manufacturing processes.
In 2001, Kionix completed and occupied a state-of-the-art,
high-capacity, micro electro-mechanical systems production facility
adjacent to its original location in the Cornell Business and
Technology Park in Lansing. About 55 employees work for the firm.
