Touch screen technology developer N-trig is setting out on a new fund-raising round. At the end of last week, the "Financial Times" reported that the company would raise money ahead of its planned IPO, and that it was talking to investment banks on the matter. Sources inform "Globes" that the amount N-trig seeks to raise is $30 million, of which half is expected to come from existing shareholders and half from financial investors.
N-trig was founded in 1999 by Meir Morag, and is currently managed by Amichai Ben-David. It develops and produces multi-touch systems, that is, screens that respond to touch by several fingers at once. The company is considered one of Israel's most impressive start ups. It provides systems that are integrated into personal computers and that facilitate direct human interface with the computer without a mouse. Since it was founded, the company has raised some $70 million, and according to IVC it had revenue of $40 million in 2009.
N-trig had planned a Nasdaq IPO in 2010, but it appears that this will not now happen, and that the company will meanwhile make do with the private placement. The round is a large one, but similar in size to N-trig's previous rounds, which were of the order of $20-30 million. Among the company's investors is US software giant Microsoft, which makes N-trig a potential partner in any initiative by Microsoft that includes touch screens.
In the past two years, N-trig has signed agreements with HP, Dell, Toshiba, and Lenovo. In addition, its technology is part of Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows 7.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 18, 2010
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