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Empire State Development has invested $250,000 in Mosaic Microsystems, a Rochester-based microelectronics and photonics packaging company. The seed investment was provided by New York Ventures, the venture capital arm of ESD.
A total of $2.4 million in funding was raised in this round, led by strategic investors Samtec and Corning Inc. Mosaic also has received substantial non-dilutive funding through the Department of Defense’s Small Business Innovation Research program, including a current Phase II project with GE Research and the Air Force Research Lab in Rome, Oneida County.
“New York Ventures and ESD are continuing to support the growth of diverse entrepreneurs in high-growth startups across New York state,” said ESD Acting Commissioner and President and CEO Eric Gertler in a statement. “The investment in Mosaic is yet another example of how the public and private sectors can work together to support technology innovation that strengthens our state’s global competitiveness in advanced manufacturing.”
Mosaic is a semiconductor packaging company that has commercialized the use of thin glass substrates with through-glass vias for next-generation microelectronics and photonics, such as 5G technology. This portion of the seed funding will provide capital to expand Mosaic’s output, enabling the company to meet the needs of its growing customer base.
“Mosaic has unlocked the potential for volume manufacturing of 5G wireless filters and antennae in glass. The industry has recognized that thin glass has advantages over ceramic packaging, notably lower electrical loss,” said Mosaic CEO Christine Whitman. “Despite these benefits, market adoption of glass has been limited due to tough challenges like glass wafer handling. Mosaic has solved these challenges and developed the ability to integrate new features.”
As of 2019, the semiconductor industry in New York state ranks third in the U.S., supporting more than 34,400 jobs in 88 facilities, roughly $4.7 billion in wages and $1.7 billion in exports by value.
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