E-Thread for RFID /PRIM01D Secures 3M Euros in First Round Financing

…to boost industrialization of innovative E-Thread® for RFID,

IoT sensors, and decorative lighting

Grenoble, France September 1^st,2014 – Primo1D, developers of the innovative E-Thread® yarn for embedding electronics in objects and materials, announced today that the company has raised more than 3 Million Euros in its first institutional financing round. Participants in this round include Sofimac Partners, Rhône-Alpes Creation Vivéris Venture, iSource Gestion in association with France Angels, and two regional banks, Banque Populaire des Alpes and Crédit Agricole Sud Rhône Alpes.

“Primo1D is now set for fast growth and development,” declared Emmanuel Arène, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Primo1D. “With this funding secured, we can move rapidly into industrialization. We will deploy our products in the booming market of traceability in textiles and plastics, address new decorative LED applications, and revolutionize the integration of sensors for in-situ monitoring. Primo1D is uniquely positioned at the crossroads of textiles and microelectronics. With our patented E-Thread® technology, we are delivering a breakthrough enabler for connected objects in the Internet of Things (IoT).”

François Miceli, Director at Sofimac Partners, observed, "This significant new investment in a start-up of the CEA-Leti labs demonstrates our attention to the technological innovations developed in one of the best research institutes in France. Primo 1D, with its unique technology, opens the field for multiple applications in RFID, but also in sensors. It is in this perspective that our technology seed capital fund, FPCI Emergence Innovation 1, looked at Primo 1D. We are excited to support a highly motivated and experienced team of founders.”

Sébastien Touvron, President of R2V (Rhône-Alpes Creation Vivéris Venture), commented, “While the worldwide market for connected objects extends across a multitude of industries, the potential for “wearable techs” is especially significant. We are pleased to support the Primo1D team, which holds an essential technology that makes it one of the world leaders of this emerging industry.”

Jean-Louis Brunet, president of Grenoble and France Angels associations, welcomed the Business Angels’ decision to accompany the seed financing of this large size project, thanks to co-investment between business angels networks and the Angel Source fund.

Nicolas Boulay, partner at iSource management, notes: "Through the co-investment fund AngelSource, we put in common the expertise and financial capabilities of iSource and France Angels. Through CEA-Leti, researchers and experienced executives from industrial companies teamed up in this new entrepreneurial adventure, which now gathers all the ingredients for success. We are proud to participate in the emergence of Primo1D, close to businesses that we know well after a few successful experiences.”

About Primo1D

Created in August 2013, Primo1D has opened the doors to a new world of electronics embedded in yarn. The company is industrializing E-Thread® technology, a way to discreetly incorporate tiny electronic chips into a thread that can be embedded into textile or molded and extruded in plastics. E-Thread® can be handled like any other thread – but makes an enormous impact all its own. With E-Thread®, intelligence is embedded at the heart of materials and objects for their entire life cycle, from creation to recycling. Compared to other packaging technologies, the simplicity of the solution offers a tremendous size advantage and a drastic reduction in assembly time, resulting in a highly reliable and cost-competitive solution.

Primo1D sees enormous potential for E-Thread® throughout the textile industry, beginning with cost-effective RFID-based traceability.  The potential benefits of RFID are well-documented for supply chain optimization and inventory management. The company's highly discreet, integrated RFID tag-in-a-thread solution will revolutionize the industry with additional value propositions including anti-theft, anti-counterfeiting, production control, and in the future, enhanced customer shopping and recycling in an all-in-one device.

Primo1D has also developed smart solutions for emerging markets like decorative lighting and in-situ monitoring through sensor integration into materials.    

E-Thread® is an innovation developed by the French research center CEA-Leti, and is strongly protected by more than 20 international patents.

Contacts

Primo1D :Emmanuel Arène - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.–Tél.: + 33 7 77 90 39 30

Sofimac Partners :François Miceli - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.–Tél.: + 33 4 37 26 20 97

Rhône Alpes création :Sébastien Touvron - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.– Tél.: + 33 4 72 52 39 39

France Angels : Jean-Louis Brunet - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..fr–Tél.: + 33 4 76 28 25 32

iSource Gestion :Nicolas Boulay - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.–Tél.: +33 1 45 01 46 46

Expansinvest :Yavn Noble - yvan.noble@alpes.banquepopulaire.fr– Tél.: +33 4 76 03 42 18