Sensicore |
 |
| Founded: |
2000 |
| Founders: |
Prof. Richard Brown, Rob Hower (BSE MSE PhD EE '89 '92 '05) |
| Product/Service: |
Advancing water testing technology |
| Location: |
Ann Arbor, MI |
| Acquired By: |
GE, Water & Process Technologies Division Apr 1, 2008 |
| Website: |
gewater.com |
| GE is committed to providing customers with innovative and responsible solutions to the hurdles they face now and in the future. GE has also doubled its level of investment in clean research and development from US$700 million in 2005 to more than US$1.5 billion in 2010 to focus on helping our customers meet pressing energy and water challenges. From Niskayuna, New York, to Shanghai, GE's research centers employ more than 3,000 research specialists who are focused everyday on delivering solutions that push the basic limits of acceptability to drive innovation and solve the world's most pressing challenges.
Every day, we invest in developing new technologies to meet industry challenges, from reducing the total cost of producing water to reducing waterborne diseases and to providing environmentally friendly chemicals. We also continue to invest in our people so that they continue to provide the very best value to our customers. [GE Water Website, About Us] |
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| In the News |
|
 Apr 16, 2008
Division of General Electric buys Sensicore Inc.
Ann Arbor-based Sensicore Inc., a company specializing in water supply testing technology, was acquired by a division of General Electric division, both companies confirmed Wednesday.
On April 1, the company became part of GE's Water & Process Technologies division, said GE spokesman Tony Kobilnyk.
Sensicore has a manufacturing facility on the south side of the city where it made high-tech, hand-held devices to help cities test their water supplies. The small silicone chips containing sensors that can detect a variety of impurities in the water, went up for sale in 2006.
The company's technology was invented by former U-M professor Richard Brown and was licensed to the company in 2000.
@ Mlive.com. Tina Reed |
|
 Apr 14, 2008
VC-heavy, revenue-light Sensicore sold to GE division
Sensicore Inc., one of the state's most successful companies in raising venture capital since it was spun off from the University of Michigan in 2000 but which struggled to generate revenue from its handheld water-testing devices, has been sold to a division of General Electric.
The deal is expected to be announced this week. Terms have not been disclosed.
GE will keep the company in Ann Arbor and fund product development and growth. The company employs about 17 full-time equivalents. Sensicore produces handheld sensors that can detect and quantify 18 different chemicals in about five minutes, and it has a Web-based data system that allows municipalities to monitor data on water quality in real time from sensors at a variety of locations.
“I think it's a fabulous opportunity for GE. They're uniquely capable of bringing off a much larger market penetration than a private company is capable of,” said former President and CEO Malcolm Kahn, who joined Sensicore in 2002.
“Taking this to the municipal marketplace needs significant funding, and GE can provide that,” said Kahn, who left Sensicore on March 31, the day the deal closed.
CFO Christine Gibbons will remain with the company on an interim basis while GE brings in its own management team.
Sensicore was the first startup for Ann Arbor-based Ardesta L.L.C., which was founded in 2000 by Chris Rizik and Rick Snyder to focus on emerging micro- and nanotechnologies. Previously they had founded another VC firm, Avalon Investments.
Sensicore's sensor-based technology was developed by Richard Brown, a former professor of electrical engineering at UM who is now dean of engineering at the University of Utah.
The company kept investors interested because of the potential size of the global market for testing water quality. It received $3.4 million in startup money in February 2001, $1.1 million in 2002, $12.1 million in 2003 and $12 million in 2005, for a total of $28.6 million.
In addition to Ardesta, Sensicore got money from New York-based Topspin Partners L.P. and three Silicon Valley VCs: Firelake Capital Management, NGEN Partners L.L.C. and Technology Partners.
“I'm happy with the results,” said Rizik when asked if the sale price would mean a good return on Ardesta's undisclosed total investment over the years. “I'm happy, in part, because this is an important technology — clean water in the next decade is going to have the importance fuel and energy does now.
“GE is the right partner to take this and blow it up. To have GE come in will allow Sensicore to grow a lot faster than it would have been able to on its own.”
“I've been following the technology very closely since 2002. We've been waiting for the technology to be ready to roll out,” said Michael Routh, general manager of Colorado-based GE Analytical Instruments, a unit of GE Water and Process Technologies, which is part of GE Infrastructure, which had 2007 revenue of $57.9 billion.
Routh said GE Analytical will use the Sensicore name for at least the short term. He said an eventual name change is likely. “GE is building a brand around GE Water and Process,” he said.
In 2004, Sensicore got a $1.5 million tax credit from the state of Michigan as part of a $4.7 million expansion of its headquarters and lab space. When it announced the credit, which runs through 2012, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. said it would lead to 338 jobs, 156 directly at the company and the rest in jobs that would be related to the company's business or as a result of spending by employees.
The company had 15 employees then, and it grew at one point to about 45, according to Kahn. It shrank again as it concentrated on bringing core products to market.
He said Sensicore currently provides sensors and Web monitoring to about 65 municipalities
In an interview with Crain's in 2006, Kahn said 2005 revenue was about $100,000. He projected 2006 revenue of $2 million and 2007 revenue of $15 million.
While both GE and Sensicore declined to disclose revenue, “We never got close to those figures,” Kahn admitted. |
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@ Crain's Detroit Business. Tom Henderson: (313) 446-0337, thenderson@crain.com |
|
 Feb 9, 2005
Micralyne and Sensicore Announce Expanded MEMS Manufacturing Partnership
EDMONTON, Alberta — Micralyne Inc. and Sensicore, Inc. today announced they have renewed and expanded their agreement for the development and manufacture of Sensicore’s innovative multi-sensor chip systems.
Micralyne, a developer and OEM manufacturer of MEMS components, will manufacture Sensicore’s disposable silicon chip system as they begin the ramp-up to volume commercial production. Sensicore has developed a testing system that can analyze 14 different water parameters in just 4 minutes. The system is a major step forward that will help municipalities and industrial companies ensure the purity and surety of drinking and process water. Sensicore also has under development sensors for the detection of heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, copper and iron with plans to release these devices in the near future.
| “We believe the technology Sensicore is developing for the analysis of water has excellent potential and are pleased to see it gaining traction in the commercial marketplace,” commented Chris Lumb, President and CEO of Micralyne. “We know Sensicore and its customers demand a high quality product that is manufactured on a repeatable and reliable basis from within a quality assured facility. That is the foundation of what we do at Micralyne and we are pleased to be their manufacturing partner of choice.”
Malcolm Kahn, Chief Executive Officer of Sensicore, Inc. added, “The response to our technology in the marketplace has been exceptional and is helped by the reproducibility and cost advantages of silicon processing. Micralyne has the experience to manufacture our devices with these requirements in mind and the ability to fulfill the volumes we anticipate as we move our technology toward on-line sensor networks that may one day reach all the way to the home. We look forward to working with them in the coming years.”
“One of the key challenges facing a company like Sensicore is the ramp-up from low volume to high volume manufacturing,” Lumb continued. “We recognize the challenges of transferring MEMS-based products into manufacturing and this has been the focus of our operations for the past several years. Sensicore will be the latest manufacturer to take advantage of our state-of-the-art MEMS clean room, fabrication, assembly and test facilities.” |
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@ Microlyne Press Release |
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