Date: Jul 23, 2012 Source: bizjournals (
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The Slater Technology Fund, a state-backed economic development fund that works like a venture capital firm in Rhode Island, announced Monday that it is behind a recent $250,000 investment in VoltServer Inc. of Charlestown, R.I.
VoltServer is a recent spinout from Eaves Devices Inc., also in Charlestown, R.I. and is developing so-called packet energy transfer technology to transmit electricity in discrete packets that contain both energy and real-time data about the energy. The company says its technique is safer than today's electric transmission methods, because it will automatically discontinue power if a person or other conducting object comes in contact.
VoltServer recently filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for $100,000 in debt financing out of the $250,000 investment in what appears to be the startup's first institutional funding. The filing noted the investment came from a single investor.
Eaves Devices was incorporated in 2000 to develop energy storage and power conversion products, according to the company's website, and products are typically spun-out as individual companies when they reach the manufacturing stage.
Steve Eaves is a Rhode Island entrepreneur who founded Modular Energy Devices, a large-format lithium ion battery company for the telecommunications industry, which was originally backed by Slater in a series of investments during 2003-2005 and was acquired by EnerSys Inc. in 2011.
"Slater's mission is to identify and sponsor the most dynamic entrepreneurs as they attack the most compelling problems of our times, and working with Steve Eaves to commercialize a radically different approach to a ubiquitous industrial challenge is a unique opportunity," said Thorne Sparkman, managing director of the Slater Technology Fund, in the statement Monday from Slater. "We look forward to continuing our partnership."
