We are happy to announce that Xidas is the latest company to join the Kairos portfolio. Xidas is a next-generation micro-device company that, through a powerful new manufacturing paradigm, offers a new breed of miniature products for high-value markets such as telecom, aerospace, industrial, and life science.
“MEMS are traditionally created via an additive manufacturing technique from the semiconductor industry called thin-film processing, which inherently limits the types of devices you can build. For the first time in 30 years, we are introducing a new paradigm that surpasses these limits and enables the development of a whole host of micro-devices that were before not possible to build.” – Paul Dhillon, CEO of Xidas
3D microsystems, often called microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), are tiny mechanical devices, with features smaller than a human hair, that can interact with the world around them. The most common devices are used as sensors, such as for monitoring acceleration, rotation, sound and vibration. Other applications are for tiny actuators (such as micromirror arrays and microswitches) and 3D structures (such as medical micro-implants). However, many products have yet to be successfully miniaturized, particularly products that require high integration of materials, such as medical and industrial products.
“MEMS are traditionally created via an additive manufacturing technique from the semiconductor industry called thin-film processing, which inherently limits the types of devices you can build,” said Paul Dhillon, CEO of Xidas. “For the first time in 30 years, we are introducing a new paradigm that surpasses these limits and enables the development of a whole host of micro-devices that were before not possible to build.”
Since its beginning in 2015, Xidas has been completely customer-funded with major development contracts from industry players such as Lockheed Martin, Teledyne, and tier 1 life science companies. The company incubated at Southern California’s premium tech incubator Evo Nexus and also received strong support from UC Irvine’s Applied Innovation. Integra’s products range from vibration-based perpetual batteries, in-canal hearing devices, in-body medical sensors, and microfluidic sensors. Their flagship product is the world’s first miniaturized microwave micro-relay that can hot-switch power. This series-A financing is targeted towards expanding the team and infrastructure and move these products into pilot production.
As part of the investment, Alex Adrianopoulos has joined the Xidas Board. “We are absolutely thrilled about Xidas’s potential and vision”, said Andrianopoulos, Chief Research and Development Officer at Kairos Ventures. “Kairos takes pride in backing the world’s best scientists and their groundbreaking inventions. This is truly exemplified in Dr. Mark Bachman and his scientific inventions in device miniaturization now powering Xidas. From medical device applications to industrial IoT applications, we see Xidas propelling existing industries to new heights while also enabling previously infeasible applications.
Xidas has also strategically selected Korean substrate powerhouse Daeduck Electronics and specialized integrated plating company OM Sangyo based out of Japan as strategic investors, bringing in unique manufacturing support and capabilities.
“As one of the world’s leading electronic substrate and packaging providers, we continue to look at new technologies that can help move our market forward and alleviate the pains of our customers,” said Gregory Kim, CEO of Daeduck. “We are very excited about the new opportunities Xidas’s unique manufacturing paradigm provides by leveraging our capabilities and infrastructure.”
“OM Sangyo continues to support and lead the research and development of cutting-edge plating technologies and their applications,” said Keitaro Namba, President of OM Sangyo. “We have followed and supported the work done by Mark Bachman at the University for several years and have witnessed first-hand the outstanding growth and maturation of the technology. Xidas’s ability to integrate our processes into micro-device products opens up many doors and expands our business into different markets.”
We are thrilled about our investment in Xidas and welcome them to the extended Kairos Ventures family!
