Oxxius secures $10 million in series B funding Lannion, France, September 11th, 2006.

Oxxius (www.oxxius.com), a manufacturer of ultracompact lasers, announced that it has raised $ 10 million in a second round of equity financing.

The round was led by existing investor Sofinnova Partners who was joined by AXA Private Equity and San Francisco-based Sofinnova Ventures.

Oxxius introduced last year its range of groundbreaking SLIM lasers offering market-leading performance and compactness. It is developing an extended range of lasers based on this platform and has achieved recently a world’s first in solid-state ultraviolet lasers.

“This additional funding will enable us to grow the commercial and industrial operations of the company and consolidate our position of first-tier laser provider to instrumentation manufacturers”, said Thierry Georges, co-founder and CEO of Oxxius.

“The potential we identified in Oxxius in the first round has turned into a major market opportunity backed by a strong and differentiated technology”, says Alain Rodermann, a Partner with Sofinnova Partners.

“Our investment philosophy is to support world-class teams. Oxxius is led by a serial entrepreneur and has the talent and dedication to grow into a highly successful venture“, adds Jean-Marc Fiamma, Investment Manager with AXA Private Equity.

Alain Azan of Sofinnova Ventures concludes: “Oxxius brings a unique value proposition to the US laser market. Few investment opportunities in European startups have excited us as much in recent years.”

About d’Oxxius:

Oxxius is focused on developing innovative solid-state laser solutions for industrial and scientific applications.
The Oxxius product line features compact laser modules with wavelengths in the visible and near-ultraviolet spectrum. Based on a patented miniaturized architecture, they combine outstanding optical performance with low-cost volume production. The lasers are used in biophotonics, spectroscopy, metrology and other instrumentation applications. Among Oxxius customers are multinational corporations, start-up companies and academic institutions.
Oxxius is headquartered in Lannion, France, a major cluster for R&D in optics, has a branch office in Germany and distributors in all major industrial countries.

About Sofinnova Partners:

Founded in Paris in 1972, Sofinnova Partners is one of Europe's leading independent Venture Capital firms. With €900 million under management, Sofinnova Partners invests in start-ups and early-stage companies in information technology and life sciences. Its investment strategy consists of investing early in teams and projects with high potential, most often acting as lead or co-lead investor. Sofinnova Partners also benefits from a long-established relationship with its sister company in San Francisco, Sofinnova Ventures. Sofinnova Partners’ teams consist of 13 professionals who bring market insight and technical expertise to portfolio companies.
For further information, please visit www.sofinnova.fr

About Sofinnova Ventures:

Sofinnova Ventures is a Venture Capital firm emphasizing a diversified investment strategy through financing early stage companies in the life science and information technology sectors. Founded in 1974, the San Francisco-based firm currently has $600 million under management. Sofinnova’s mission is to create value by providing entrepreneurs with the resources, experience and networks necessary to turn their bright ideas into thriving businesses. With deeply rooted ties to Europe's leading financial, technology and venture institutions, Sofinnova is also uniquely positioned to foster trans-Atlantic synergy and market acceleration.
For more information, visit www.sofinnova.com.

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Isabelle Jourdain
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