AVS 62nd International Symposium & Exhibition
    MEMS and NEMS Tuesday Sessions
       Session MN+BI-TuA

Invited Paper MN+BI-TuA1
Entrepreneurial Environment for Implantable and Wearable BioMEMS

Tuesday, October 20, 2015, 2:20 pm, Room 211A

Session: BioMEMS/NEMS, Wearable and Implantable Devices
Presenter: Kurt Petersen, Silicon Valley Band of Angels
Correspondent: Click to Email

Several converging trends are transforming the entrepreneurial process for starting MEMS companies and for transitioning MEMS devices into production and into the market. First, it is well-known that recent market set-backs have caused traditional VC funds to view any hardware start-ups with renewed scrutiny and skepticism. Hardware, and particularly bioMEMS, start-ups typically require large amounts of capital ($50-$100M) and many years (7-10), before getting close to a reasonable exit. This large investment in money and time is on top of the already inherently risky prospects for such a start-up being commercially successful. Secondly, MEMS is recognized, by investors, by foundries, and by large consumer electronics companies, as a very successful new product area because of the huge up-take of MEMS components in mobile devices during recent years. Third, key strategic issues in huge upcoming new consumer markets, such as wearables and IoT, are sensors and contextual awareness; areas which are uniquely solved by MEMS devices. And fourth, the sheer number of successful, high volume MEMS devices currently on the market, has created a huge pool of skilled MEMS developers and manufacturers which can be drawn upon for new devices and new start-up companies. All these factors dramatically influence how such companies get funding and how they operate. We will discuss all these issues as they relate specifically to new implantable and wearable MEMS start-up companies. As examples, we will also discuss a number of current technical developments/devices/companies involving implantable and wearable bioMEMS.