A123 Raises $30 Million to Expand Battery Production Capacity
Robert Buderi10/23/07Follow @bbuderi
A123 Systems is like some sort of entrepreneurial Energizer bunny: it just keeps on marching through investment rounds and deals. In the latest news, the Watertown, MA, supplier of high-power lithium ion batteries announced today that it had received $30 million in new venture financing. The money will be used to scale up production capacity to meet growing demand for A123′s products, including fulfilling a big contract announced in August to co-develop the battery cell for General Motors’ Chevrolet Volt line of electric cars and other vehicles. The company will also grow its cordless power tool battery business, under a deal with Black & Decker.
The new funds come on top of $40 million the company raised in January; that was the biggest New England venture deal in the first half of this year. Since its 2001 founding, A123 has received more than $130 million in investment from the likes of General Electric, MIT, North Bridge Venture Partners, Procter and Gamble, Motorola, Qualcomm, Sequoia Capital, and YankeeTek, among others. A spokesman said that all of A123′s existing investors contributed to the new round, as well as two new ones: CMEA Ventures (which led the round) and Carruth Management.
The new funds should keep A123 energized for at least a little while longer.
