QD Vision, With $20M More in VC, Waves Flag for Boston Nanotech

QD Vision is a throwback to the days when “nano” was cool. OK, that was 10 years ago, but still.

These days you would be hard-pressed to find many thriving nanomaterials companies in the Boston area (not counting biotechs). But Lexington, MA-based QD Vision seems to be doing just fine. The company has just closed $20 million in new venture funding, bringing its total raised to something like $75 million since 2004.

The new money comes from previous investors, including North Bridge Venture Partners, Highland Capital Partners, In-Q-Tel, and DTE Energy Ventures. (And the company has clearly cracked our list of biggest VC bets on technology companies in Boston.)

QD Vision has found a business in using its “quantum dot” nanomaterials to enhance the LED backlight in high-end LCD televisions. The result: a fuller range of colors for TV makers like Sony.

Of course, that’s not all that quantum dots are good for. QD Vision is working on other products in flat-panel displays, solid-state lighting, and defense and security applications. But it’s still hard out here for a nanotech.

The company spun out of the labs of MIT professors Vladimir Bulovic and Moungi Bawendi in 2004. It is led now by CEO Jason Carlson, who joined in 2010.

Author: Gregory T. Huang

Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003. Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.