Lockheed Martin Announces Its Acquisition of Nantero’s Government Business Unit
NWN Speaks Exclusively to Dr. Brent Segal, Co-Founder of Nantero To Learn More About this Innovative Deal and Its Importance to Nano Business Development
This month, Lockheed Martin formally announced its acquisition of the government business unit of Nantero, Inc., a privately-held, Massachusetts-based company that develops methods and processes for incorporating carbon nanotubes for electronic devices. In addition, Lockheed Martin will also have exclusive licensing to Nantero’s IP portfolio for government applications.
“The timing was perfect,” notes Dr. Brent Segal, Co-Founder. He tells NWN, “We [Nantero] have been focused on working with the government to integrate our CNTs into electronics for defense, and the government sees the value in getting CNTs into systems for defense applications. We are very pleased to be partnering with Lockheed Martin, a leader in advanced technology systems for the US government and Department of Defense.”
Nantero is well known for being one of the world’s first nanotechnology companies, and has had great success in developing and using CNTs for next generation semiconductor devices. With this agreement, about 30 Nantero employees have joined Lockheed Martin’s Space Systems Group, including Dr. Segal. He tells NWN that the thirty employees will not need to relocate.
When asked what the next steps would be in terms of the agreement, Dr. Segal tells NWN, “The first phase will be moving CNT-enabled electronics into defense applications. However, the early work will include integrating CNTs into various application areas for Lockheed Martin."
The acquisition of a unit within a technology start-up is not typical, notes Dr. Brent Segal, Co-Founder of Nantero. He urges nanotechnology start-up companies to “pay attention to this deal,” for he believes this type of agreement is a very effective option to develop nanotechnologies for market applications. He urges nanotech companies and researchers that have developed a technology to “partner with a larger company that can work with you to help take your technology to the next level to achieve successful integration into products.”
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