Leyden Energy, Inc., a manufacturer of advanced lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries for the consumer electronics, energy storage and electric vehicle (EV) markets, announced that it has received $20 million in Series B financing led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), with participation from existing investors Lightspeed Ventures, Sigma Partners and Walden International. Leyden Energy will use the new capital to expand production of its full suite of next-generation Li-ion batteries, increase company staff and fund its future development of advanced battery technologies. The financing round comes only six weeks after the company announced that it hit key customer milestones and officially launched its three-year battery product portfolio.
“Leyden Energy combines all of the elements we look for in a portfolio company—tangible intellectual property that can be commercialized in a cost-effective manner to address a large market problem,” said Ron Bernal, venture partner at NEA. “What the company has introduced is really an energy storage platform that can be applied to a number of different product markets in order to increase the value that those applications bring to end customers. We are excited to be working with Leyden Energy to usher in its next stage of growth.”
“The involvement of a top-tier investor and growth partner like NEA further validates the recent progress Leyden Energy has made in bringing its product suite to market,” said Aakar Patel, president and CEO of Leyden Energy. “Market demand for high-performance, long-lasting batteries in consumer electronics is growing, and we are perfectly positioned to answer that demand and improve the customer experience for product manufacturers worldwide.”
Leyden Energy anticipates using the $20 million to expand sales globally, as well as to add manufacturing capacity for its next-generation Li-ion batteries in response to rising customer demand in the highly lucrative mobile and thin consumer electronics sectors. Leyden Energy’s battery products are perfectly suited for consumer electronics applications due to their high energy density, high level of safety and excellent thermal properties. These same attributes, combined with production-proven power supplies and high durability make Leyden Energy’s batteries well suited for use in EVs and the harsh conditions associated with grid and backup storage applications.
The company also announced that NEA’s Ron Bernal will join the Leyden Energy board of directors.