NIL Technology has developed technologies on DTU Nanolab for 15 years. Now they have secured funding for 200 mil. DKK and faces an international break through
It is the NIL Technology ambition that their optical components based on nanotechnology, will be found in all leading brands of smartphones within the next couple of years. With the capital boost of 200 mil. DKK from Jolt Capital, Vækstfonden, NGP Capital and EIC Fund the ambition is now near realization.
Nanoimprinted Litography (NIL) is a technology, which the two entrepreneurs Theodor Nielsen and Brian Bilenberg was presented for during their study at DTU.
Since then Theodor Nielsen and Brian Bilenberg have created a market for the company that now counts more than 60 employees placed in Kongens Lyngby, Zürich, USA and Sweden, where they have access to Cleanroom facilities required for product development and production.
It is a growth that pleases Professor Anders Kristensen, who supervised the two entrepreneurs:
“It is well deserved. I know that it has taken a lot of hard work and determination. I am proud that our research at DTU, which began with an EU fund for about 20 years ago, has created a foundation, so that Denmark today have one of the leading companies within the field of this technology,” says Anders Kristensen, DTU Health Tech.
Advanced Nanotechnology
The technology that already exists in some high-end mobile phones, requires special production facilities, which only are to be found in few places around the world - to be exact, a well-equipped cleanroom as DTU Nanolab.
”We have a close collaboration with DTU Nanolab, where we spend a lot of time using the most expensive equipment for our technology. We design masters to produce diffractive optical elements (DOE) that are used in a mobile phone’s camera and other sensors,” says Brian Bilenberg, EVP in NIL Technology, who points out the good collaboration with Head of Operations, Leif Johansen, and Director at DTU Nanolab, Jörg Hübner.
NIL Technology produces advanced optical lenses based on nanotechnologies that are better, more simple and smaller, than the solutions that are in production today.
“Our technology will be used for 3D imaging, which is the technology behind e.g. Facial Recognition and which is a corner stone within augmented reality. To be concrete, the camera’s autofocus works faster with a distance sensor. This is caused by a very different way to handle light with multizones created by a surface structure that only have a few micrometers depth, “ Brian Bilenberg explains.
More action in the company
Now that the company have received a capital injection, NIL Technology would like to use the facilities on DTU Nanolab even more. The company have 15 engineers, who all work in the cleanroom, so they occupy a lot of space.
“We have a large activity in the cleanroom of DTU Nanolab, where we produce Masters with nanostructures that are used in the production of the optical components. NIL Technology has worked at DTU Nanolab for 15 years, and now - when we are on the threshold to use our technology in production of optical elements for some of the World’s greatest technology companies - the collaboration with DTU Nanolab will only increase. We are looking forward to the expansion of DTU Nanolabs facilities - the sooner the better,” says Brian Bilenberg.
About NIL Technology
The company is founded in 2006 by Theodor Nielsen and Brian Bilenberg, both took a leave of absence from their PhD studies at DTU.
NIL Technology got a serie of A-round-financing in 2018 from NGP Capital (Nokia) and the French private equity fund, Jolt Capital. In the autumn of 2019, the received a prestigious Scholarship on development from EU.
Board members are - amongst other- Jens Due Olsen (NKT, KMD, previously Danske Bank, Heptagon, etc.) and Christian Tang-Jespersen, who was the Director for the Swiss company Heptagon that was sold for approximately 2.5 billion dollars a couple of years ago as unicorn.
This year the company has received 200 mil. DKK from a line of prominent investors, and existing investors as Jolt Capital and NGP capital are joined by Vækstfonden and EIC Fund.