We advised leading US deep-tech investor, New Science Ventures, on the $60 million Series B venture financing it led on for Paragraf, the Cambridge-based pioneer and global leader of graphene-based electronics technologies and products.
Graphene is a long-awaited alternative to silicon as it’s one of the most conductive materials in the world, incredibly strong yet flexible, capable of withstanding very high electrical powers and has great thermal integrity. Paragraf is a leader in developing a scalable approach to graphene electronics manufacturing and using graphene in a wide range of advanced medical, electronic and energy devices.
New Science Ventures, founded in 2004, is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut and has offices in London. NSV invests in companies using leading-edge science to address market needs in the life sciences and information technology sectors.
The Series B round also included current investors Parkwalk, Amadeus Capital Partners, IQ Capital and Molten Ventures, as well as new investors British Patient Capital, through its Future Fund: Breakthrough, and US based In-Q-Tel. The funding will help Paragraf scale its business as it continues its international growth by increasing its sales and technical operations in the UK, US, EU, and Asia, boosting its R&D capabilities to advance its technology and product development capacity, and expanding its manufacturing infrastructure.
Commenting on the transaction, corporate partner Ross McNaughton said: "We are delighted to have acted for New Science Ventures on this investment. New Science Ventures is right at the forefront of supporting companies leveraging breakthrough science to create extraordinary value and leading on this Paragraf financing is a reflection of that. As the need for action on climate change becomes increasingly urgent, next generation materials have become central to reducing our carbon footprint and we look forward to seeing what NSV and Paragraf are able to achieve together."
Thomas Lavin, Partner at New Science Ventures, added: "Ross and the Taylor Wessing team did an exceptional job organising and documenting this large and complex transaction with a diverse investor group and supporting our corporate and intellectual property due diligence. We are thrilled to have led this round for Paragraf and we look forward to working with Ross and the team again soon.''
The transaction was led by partner Ross McNaughton with support from partner Adrian Toutoungi, senior associates Sarah Cole and Nabil Asaad, and associate Aria Howorth Oram.
