Pelican Imaging Raises $10 Million in Series B Financing
Globespan’s Schiffman Joins Board of Directors at Smartphone-Camera Innovator
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – October 26, 2010 – Pelican Imaging Corporation, a venture-backed pioneer in computational imaging, announced today that it has received $10 million in Series B financing. The round – led by Globespan Capital Partners and joined by Granite Ventures, InterWest Partners and IQT – will support the company’s growth and enable it to prepare and position its innovative camera technology and software for commercialization in smartphones. In addition, Barry Schiffman, co-founder and executive managing director at Globespan Capital Partners, will join Pelican Imaging’s board of directors.
The $10 million Series B funding follows a $7 million Series A round in July 2009 with investors Granite Ventures and InterWest Partners, and an undisclosed amount from IQT earlier this year.
“Pelican Imaging’s computational camera addresses the key pain points associated with conventional camera phones – the height of the camera module, poor image quality and a limited user-experience – targeting a rapidly growing market that currently exceeds $4 billion,” said Schiffman. “We see tremendous opportunity for revolutionizing smartphone cameras, and are delighted to join the Pelican team in bringing such a disruptive solution to the market.”
Pelican Imaging’s patent-pending software algorithms, together with novel optics and sensors, fundamentally changes conventional camera architecture and addresses the current tradeoffs between thin smartphone design and overall image and video quality. Pelican’s computational camera will enable a significantly thinner camera solution with processing software that does not compromise image quality and enables users to interact with the image before and after capturing the shot.
“We are excited to partner with our growing list of investors to commercialize a new camera technology and welcome the experience that Barry Schiffman and Globespan will bring to our team,” said Aman Jabbi, co-founder and CEO of Pelican Imaging. “Our value proposition is unique and compelling, drawing strong support from within the ecosystem.”
About Globespan Capital Partners
Globespan Capital Partners is a leading global venture capital firm with over $1 billion under active management. Globespan takes a balanced approach to investing with multi-stage investments in information technology and cleantech companies. Our investment team has a proven track record based on partnering with management teams to build strong, successful companies. We have significant experience and relationships in Asia which allows us to provide our portfolio companies access to global markets. With offices in Boston, Palo Alto and Tokyo, we invest in companies all across the U.S. and in Japan on behalf of a global base of limited partners. More information can be found at www.globespancapital.com.
About Granite Ventures
Granite Ventures has been helping early-stage technology companies build solid foundations for success since 1992. Granite has managed over $1 billion in venture capital and has invested in more than 100 private companies. They partner with promising and successful entrepreneurs to create businesses that have a competitive edge, and help those businesses achieve category leadership. More information can be found at www.granitevc.com.
About InterWest Partners
InterWest Partners (www.interwest.com), founded in 1979, is a leading diversified venture capital firm focused on building long-term relationships with entrepreneurs and portfolio companies. Currently investing its tenth fund, InterWest X, a $650 million fund, InterWest has raised more than $2.8 billion of capital since inception. InterWest has a total of 13 partners and general partners in Menlo Park, Calif., and Dallas, who bring together deep domain knowledge in life sciences and information technology.
About IQT
IQT is the not-for-profit, strategic investment firm that works to identify, adapt, and deliver innovative technology solutions to support the missions of the U.S. Intelligence Community. Launched by the CIA in 1999 as a private organization, IQT’s mission is to identify and partner with companies developing cutting-edge technologies that serve the national security interests of the United States. To learn more, visit www.iqt.org.
About Pelican Imaging
Headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., and founded in 2008, Pelican Imaging Corporation is a venture-backed software start-up in the business of commercializing computational cameras for the smartphone market. The company is developing a new camera technology that directly addresses the challenges posed by conventional camera design and small pixels. Investors include Globespan Capital Partners, Granite Ventures, InterWest Partners, and IQT. For more information, go to www.pelicanimaging.com.