Compound Photonics: a clear picture of success

When Kodak want to buy you out, saying no is difficult. But Jonathan Sachs and Jerry Woodall didn’t hesitate once they met GEP - and moved to the UK.

Jerry Woodall– a top award-winning technologist in the USA – was the man who invented the infrared LED that we all take for granted in our CD players, TV remote controls and computer networks. Now he’d come up with a way of making the images on massive TV, cinema and back-projection screens look amazing.

Supporting ground-breaking technology

Compound Photonics’ light modulating technology doesn’t need a single transistor – but it doesn’t need any new manufacturing techniques or processes either. And as it’s relatively cheap to produce it potentially has unheard-of manufacturing yields.

Getting the right advice to bring the innovation to commercial success was crucial at this stage, and GEP’s knowledge and experience was invaluable.

Understanding the challenges and opportunities

Jonathan and Jerry had proved it in the lab and with mock-ups, and were ready for full-scale R&D. But they wanted better financial backing, more market opportunities and a climate of real technological innovation. So that’s what GEP concentrated on with them.

“Jonathan wanted to come to the UK because the European market for display technology is well organised and structured,” says Derek Goodwin, Head of the GEP. “There’s the real willingness to fund it and actually get some business done. He also saw many more opportunities for linking up with Japanese companies here, than in the USA – and they knew three people in Cambridge they really wanted to work with to develop the technology and take it to the next stage,” says Goodwin.

Delivering exactly what the company wanted

Like always, the first thing the GEP dealmaker did was to listen… check out precisely what we could do to support Compound Photonics.

“They didn’t even have a prototype at that stage but that wasn’t going to stop us moving things forward together. We arranged for them to meet the right contacts and get into the networks that will be essential as the company grows,” Goodwin continues.

Sourcing funding and delivering ROI

Funding was the crucial factor so GEP introduced the company to several investors, including Create Partners, the Cambridge-based venture capitalists. They became the main funding partner and immediately put in £250,000, increasing that later to £1.2 million.

Create Partners expects to get a ten-fold return whenever they invest, and they’re delighted. Compound Photonics is one of their best investments ever.

Networks + location = head start

With that investment the company could get on with final proofing and prototyping. Now they’re close to bringing the technology to market, making the most of the international opportunities they came to the UK to exploit.

They’ve imported and attracted experienced people with the very highest level of technology, development and management skills, and none of them would now dream of leaving their Cambridge base. It’s where they do all their engineering and development, and where they run their main admin and marketing operations.

The company’s value has risen sharply and is still on the way up, in fact things couldn’t be better. The decision to come to the UK and to use GEP’s support is really paying off.