May 9, 2012 – Marketwire — SunSun Lighting, a provider of high-performance, energy efficient and low-cost light-emitting diode (LED) lighting technologies, received $30 million in Series B financing from GSR Ventures and Oak Investment Partners and additional commitments from its original angel investors. Oak, a multi-stage venture capital firm, is leading the round. Allan Kwan, a China-based advisor for Oak, is joining the board of SunSun.
SunSun Lighting eliminates the performance and cost trade-offs of current LED lighting technology by offering a complete LED system, including power electronics, housing, packaging, and optics.
"SunSun is committed to shifting the lighting industry to solid state lighting. We offer the world’s first LED lamps that maximize both luminous efficacy and color rendering with the lowest cost. This capital will be used to expand our manufacturing capacity, sales and marketing efforts, and research and development," said SunSun Lighting Founder and CEO Jianning Sun.
The company’s patented PowerXplore technology attains the highest AC/DC conversion rate of 92%, compared to the 85% conversion rate of the nearest competitor. By innovating at the system level, SunSun achieves both high performance and low lifecycle cost, significantly broadening the potential applications for LED lighting technology.
The company will debut its latest product, the MR16 LED bulb, which is universally compatible with AC/DC 12V and all transformers today in Booth 225 at the LIGHTFAIR International architectural and commercial lighting tradeshow and conference.
"There is a huge market for solid state lighting," said Sonny Wu, the co-founder and a managing director of GSR Ventures and Chairman of the Board for SunSun Lighting. "It could be a $300 billion market globally in three years. GSR incubated the company in 2010 when Mr. Sun had an innovative idea of designing the LED lightbulb with a revolutionary new architecture. We were the sole investor in the $10 Million Series A round for SunSun, and continue to support the company given the phenomenal growth opportunities we see," he added.
"SunSun Lighting stands out from the many LED companies we have seen over the years," said Bandel Carano, managing partner for Oak Investment Partners. "We are convinced that SunSun has superior architecture and technology and is well-positioned to scale. Furthermore, we are pleased to partner with GSR on another investment in China, strengthening our strategic relationship with the firm. The combination of GSR’s knowledge of the Chinese market, Oak’s deep domain expertise in clean energy, and SunSun’s technology and leadership team, will help the company realize its tremendous potential."
"We believe strongly in SunSun’s management team, including CEO Sun, and his senior research and development executives," said Allan Kwan, a China-based advisor for Oak. "The team has assembled a compelling value proposition — a superior silicon-based technology approach, a powerful customer base of world-renowned lighting companies, and a world-class manufacturing facility and process," Kwan added.
The global lighting market has shown it is ready for LED technology that meets or exceeds the performance of conventional bulbs while lowering cost. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that switching to LED lighting over the next two decades could save $120 billion in energy costs in the U.S. alone.
SunSun Lighting is a cutting-edge manufacturer of LED lighting products, based in China’s Jiangsu Province. Founded in 2010, SunSun is committed to shifting the lighting industry to solid state lighting. SunSun eliminates the performance and cost trade-offs of current LED lighting technology by offering a complete LED system, including power electronics, housing, packaging, and optics. By innovating at the system level, SunSun achieves both high performance and low lifecycle cost, significantly broadening the potential applications for LED lighting technology. www.sunsunlighting.com.
GSR Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on building world-class technology companies in China. The firm invests primarily in the Internet, wireless, green technology and semiconductors sectors. Founded in 2004, GSR has 50 companies in its portfolio and more than $1 billion under management. SunSun Lighting is the firm’s tenth investment in energy efficient companies. For more information, visit www.gsrventures.com.
Oak Investment Partners is a multi-stage venture capital firm and a lead investor in the next generation of enduring growth companies. Since 1978, the firm has invested $9 billion in nearly 500 companies around the world, earning the trust of entrepreneurs with a senior team that delivers steady guidance, deep domain expertise and a consistent investment philosophy. The firm’s five major growth sectors of focus are information technology, internet and consumer, financial services technology, healthcare services and clean energy. For more information, visit www.oakvc.com.