Agile Materials secures $5.8 million

Sept. 23, 2002 — Agile Materials & Technologies, a Goleta, Calif., developer of variable integrated passive components for radio frequency — or wireless — electronics, announced it has secured $5.8 million so far in first round funding, according to Chuck Bischof, chief executive. He said the round is still open for another $2 million to $3 million and will close toward the end of October.

NextGen Partners led the round. Additional investors include CyCad Group, Harris & Harris Group Inc. and Rockport Partners.

Bischof said the round was oversubscribed and that the original target was between $3 million and $3.5 million. “As the economy started deteriorating,” he said, “we felt it would be smart to get more money at this time.” He said he anticipates the funding should last well into 2004. Goals include expanding the company’s infrastructure, buying equipment for validation and production and hiring additional personnel.

A spinoff of the University of California, Santa Barbara, Agile Materials & Technologies was founded in 1999. It previously received $1.25 million in funding from SBIR grants. Bischof said the company has almost 10 employees and he expects to have 18 by year’s end. He said the company is working on projects with a defense contractor and “a couple of major device manufacturers in the cellular phone industry.”

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