RISINGSTARS GROWTH FUND II INVESTS IN NCAPSA LIMITED
24 October 2006
RisingStars Growth Fund II, the early stage technology fund managed by Enterprise Ventures, is delighted to announce that it has completed its first investment in Yorkshire.
Sheffield-based company Ncapsa Limited was formed in 2004 specifically to develop the ideas of its CEO, Pierre Drezet, into tools to help engineers develop embedded real-time systems and to help companies that produce consumer electronics to get them right first time.
Eddward French, Investment Director at EV, said, "Many of the complex electronic devices we buy suffer from minor bugs and defects. We saw in Ncapsa's technology a really straightforward approach to allow manufacturers to avoid most of these defects without delaying their product launch. We were impressed with the depth of technical understanding of the Ncapsa team, and the strength of their solution to the very real problems that their customers face".
Pierre Drezet, CEO of Ncapsa, commented, "We were delighted with the help and support of Enterprise ventures and RisingStars have been able to provide. They have helped enormously to strengthen the team and focus the company's efforts onto particular opportunities. We are delighted to have been the first investment of RisingStars Growth Fund II, and to be the first RisingStars investment in Yorkshire".
Enterprise Ventures also provided Ncapsa with further technical and market expertise in the form of Ken Tindell, the founder of LiveDevices, which was a succefful venture-backed spinout from York UNiversity, later sold to international automotive software group ETAS. He said, "I am really excited about the potential of Ncapsa to change the way products are developed, helping manufactureres get new functionality into their products and to help them get their products to market quicker. I can see this being of immense value to the far-eastern consumer electronics companies in particular".
Neil Loxley, previously CEO of Bede plc, a semiconductor technology company that he successfully listed in the London Stock Exchange, joins Ncapsa as its new Chairman on investment. HE commented, "I am very pleased to be helping a company with strong technology that has the potential to make a substantial impact in a large global market. The team have come up with an elegant solution for providing the software 'glue' that makes electronic products work".
RisingStars Growth Fund II, the follow-on fund to Enterprise Ventures' successful RisingStars Growth Fund, achieved its first closing in April 2006, raising funds from institutional and private sector clients. RisingStars II will invest in early stage and proof of concept technology opportunities located throughout the North of England.
Colin Willis, Technology Investment Director at EV, said, "We are delighted to be making our first investment in RisingStars Growth Fund II, backing such an exciting new company in Yorkshire".