Aquest Raises $20 Million

By Vidya   |   Tuesday, 27 February 2007, 18:30 IST
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Aquest Systems, providers of automation solutions, raised $20 million in its second round of venture financing. The company intends to use the funds to grow its automation systems technologies addressing the No-Wait-ManufacturingSM (NWM) for short-cycle chip manufacturing. The NWM technology provides solutions to IC manufacturers to significantly reduce or eliminate the unnecessary delays that affect manufacturing productivity in an IC fab as well as LCD manufacturing. Dr. Mihir Parikh, founder, president and CEO, Aquest, is calling this first of many milestones for the company as they take their NWM vision to the market. “The funding comes at a high point in Aquest’s technology roadmap, with preparations already under way for the first major installation of the company’s new automation system,” Parikh said. Today the company is targeting to create the next generation of automation systems to support the current industry initiative of 300 Prime and a vision for the 450-mm era. The participants in this latest round seemed to have excited Dr Parikh about the company’s future prospects above all. The list includes existing lead investor Menlo Ventures and two international investment firms—Walden International and Global Catalyst Partners (GCP). Parikh feels that his company would be able to meet the industry’s incessant demand for higher productivity, more cost-efficient automation technologies—especially for small-lot, short-cycle manufacturing, with their unique technology and cost-effective business model. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA, Aquest was established in 2004 and has offices in Japan, Taiwan and India.

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