Germany: High-Tech Gründerfonds invests in Dresden spin-out

Investment

Bonn-based venture capitalist High-Tech Gründerfonds has invested in sim4tec, a spin-out from the Technical University of Dresden, the Institute for Applied Photophysics and CreaPhys GmbH (itself also a TU Dresden spin-out) that develops and distributes software that can simulate physical processes of OLEDs (organic light-emitting devices). The amount involved was undisclosed. High-Tech Gründerfonds is backed by key investors including the Federal Ministry for Economics and Technology, the KfW bank group, BASF, Deutsche Telekom, Siemens, Robert Bosch, Daimler and Carl Zeiss.

sim4tec’s simulation technology can be used to enhance OLED-based picture displays with energy-efficient light sources in view of making cost-effective and environmentally friendly products such as OLED-TVs which are currently not available as off-the-shelf items.

Robert Nitsche, of sim4tec, commented: “The key to low-cost OLEDs is, besides the production process itself, mainly a high OLED efficiency and a deep knowledge of the physical processes taking place within the device. Using our software, customers can calculate OLED key figures like brightness, colour and efficiency already at the computer at minimal computation times and before even entering the production environment! This leads to accelerated OLED development cycles and a significant reduction of R&D costs.”

Nicolas Kirschner, of the High-Tech Gründerfonds, said: “We know about the importance of a professional simulation environment from the classical semiconductor market, especially with respect to a reduction of costs. While classical EDA-software is practically indispensable, the simulation technology for organic devices is still at its infancy. We believe that the OLED technology will soon make the breakthrough and that an OLED simulation environment is then a must-have for any producer of OLEDs. The existing know-how of sim4tec combined with the strong partners in the ‘Organic Valley Dresden’ are ideal prerequisites for our investment into sim4tec.”