Battery maker ActaCell lines up $5.58 million in funding

http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2008/07/21/daily25.html
Wednesday, July 23, 2008 - 9:54 AM CDT
Austin Business Journal
An Austin battery technology startup grabbed the attention of Google in its series A funding round. ActaCell Inc. secured $5.58 million in a round led by Google.org's RechargeIT program, DFJ Mercury of Houston, Applied Materials Inc.'s Applied Ventures LLC, and Good Energies. "We're pretty excited," President and CEO Bill Ott says. "There's been a lot of validation and technology." Founded in September 2007, ActaCell is creating a lithium ion battery, though Ott declines to offer specifics. ActaCell and Cedar Park's EEstor Inc. are two local companies developing an alternative to traditional batteries -- a highly secretive and competitive field. Cell phone makers to auto manufacturers are clamoring for a battery that lasts long and recharges rapidly. Ott says he will add to the 10-member staff over the next two years. He plans to have about 15 people by then. ActaCell is housed in the IC2 Institute's Austin Technology Incubator. The technology was developed by Professor Arumugam Manthiram's Material Science and Engineering lab at The University of Texas.www.actacell.com

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