Munich/Jena — mi2-factory GmbH closes a finan­cing round and raises fresh capi­tal in the upper 6‑digit range. The exis­ting lead inves­tor bm|t GmbH (Betei­li­gungs­ma­nage­ment Thürin­gen) and three busi­ness angels from the Munich region are parti­ci­pa­ting as inves­tors. With the unique manu­fac­tu­ring tech­no­logy, the so-called energy filter tech­no­logy, of the mi2-factory, power micro­chip produ­cers can manu­fac­ture their chips in an opti­mi­zed way or create new types of chips.

The unique selling point of the mi2-factory is the highly defi­ned proces­sing of the base mate­rial of power micro­chips, which leads to cost and perfor­mance advan­ta­ges for custo­mers and enables comple­tely new types of chips. These chips are made of the highly effi­ci­ent mate­rial sili­con carbide and are manu­fac­tu­red by mi2-factory’s custo­mers to be used in parti­cu­lar in target appli­ca­ti­ons for rege­ne­ra­tive energy appli­ca­ti­ons (e.g. photo­vol­taics, elec­tro­mo­bi­lity, wind power).

mi2-factory plans to invest the capi­tal raised in the further deve­lo­p­ment of product and manu­fac­tu­ring tech­no­logy. The current finan­cing round also came about with support from the BayStartUP inves­tor network. “The profes­sio­nal support in the finan­cing process by BayStartUP was outstan­ding. At the Munich BayStartUP Venture Confe­rence in March, mi2-factory convin­ced me of its busi­ness idea,” says Fried­rich Hecker, one of the private inves­tors.

After the mi2 team got in touch with the inves­tors of the 1st finan­cing round at the Inves­tor Days Thurin­gia, this time the startup addi­tio­nally sought inves­tors inter­na­tio­nally — among others also in China. “Ulti­m­ately, the rela­ti­onship of trust that we have deve­lo­ped with our inves­tors, the terms and condi­ti­ons, and the time hori­zon were key factors in our decis­ion,” says Benja­min Tom, busi­ness manage­ment direc­tor and co-foun­­der of mi2-factory.

Poten­tial for basic technology
“So far, our biggest chall­enge has been to initiate compre­hen­sive custo­mer projects for forward-looking appli­ca­ti­ons. Our next mile­stone will be the conclu­sion of deve­lo­p­ment coope­ra­ti­ons. In these, we want to estab­lish the energy filter tech­no­logy on the market as a basic manu­fac­tu­ring tech­no­logy for the produc­tion of the next gene­ra­tion of power micro­chips,” reports Florian Krip­pen­dorf, tech­ni­cal mana­ging direc­tor and co-foun­­der of mi2-factory.

The mate­rial sili­con carbide will gain great importance in the coming years, espe­ci­ally for micro­chips with high voltage clas­ses. “Due to the lower power losses of sili­con carbide compared to conven­tio­nal sili­con, sili­con carbide micro­chips are needed in power lines, trains, elec­tric cars, char­ging stati­ons, photo­vol­taic and wind power plants,” explains Prof. Dr. Michael Rüb, stra­te­gist and co-foun­­der of mi2-factory. “In addi­tion to the advan­tage that sili­con carbide chips are charac­te­ri­zed by signi­fi­cantly lower losses than conven­tio­nal sili­­con-based chips, they also enable signi­fi­cantly smal­ler modu­les and systems to be built than is possi­ble with sili­con. This redu­ces the volume and weight of power converters.”

About BayStartUP
BayStartUP is the Bava­rian startup network for foun­ders, inves­tors and compa­nies. With the Bava­rian Busi­ness Plan Compe­ti­ti­ons, an exten­sive coaching offer and Germany’s largest inves­tor network, it supports start­ups in opti­mi­zing their stra­tegy, buil­ding their busi­ness and finding start-up or growth capi­tal. For private and insti­tu­tio­nal inves­tors, BayStartUP ensu­res a quali­fied deal flow and offers startup insights at exclu­sive busi­ness angel meetings and inves­tor confe­ren­ces. With nati­on­wide startup indus­try matchings and concep­tual offers, BayStartUP advi­ses estab­lished compa­nies on the deve­lo­p­ment of suita­ble stra­te­gies for coope­ra­tion with start­ups. Through BayStartUP, foun­ders have cont­act oppor­tu­ni­ties with more than 280 listed busi­ness angels, over 100 insti­tu­tio­nal inves­tors and finan­cing from €50,000 to €6 million. Each year, BayStartUP’s inves­tor network brokers around €50 million to start­ups, espe­ci­ally in the early stages. www.baystartup.de

About mi2-factory GmbH
mi2-factory GmbH is a start-up from Jena (Thurin­gia) in the semi­con­duc­tor sector foun­ded in 2016. Core compe­tence is the deve­lo­p­ment and distri­bu­tion of the so-called energy filter tech­no­logy — a manu­fac­tu­ring tech­no­logy for the proces­sing of the micro­chip base mate­rial sili­con carbide. mi2-factory’s proprie­tary energy filter tech­no­logy redu­ces costs, increa­ses perfor­mance and enables design inno­va­tion for high-effi­ci­ency wind power, photo­vol­taics and elec­tric mobi­lity. Custo­mers of mi2-factory are well-known corpo­ra­ti­ons from Europe, Japan and the USA, which produce power semi­con­duc­tor compon­ents in high quan­ti­ties. www.mi2-factory.com

About bm|t GmbH
bm‑t betei­li­gungs­ma­nage­ment thürin­gen gmbh is the manage­ment company for curr­ently eight invest­ment funds. As a univer­sal invest­ment company for Thurin­gia, bm‑t invests in all high-yield sectors and in every phase of life of compa­nies with a promi­sing busi­ness model, from start-up to prepa­ra­tion for IPO or MBO/MBI. The bm‑t is a finan­cial inves­tor, which focu­ses on entre­pre­neu­rial types and foun­ders and actively supports them. The bm‑t combi­nes invest­ment and active support through busi­ness consul­ting, struc­tu­ring of finan­cing concepts, and parti­ci­pa­tion in commit­tees of the compa­nies. With a strong network, bm‑t supports its busi­ness part­ners as a coach and spar­ring part­ner. www.bm‑t.de