CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AKHAN Semiconductor (AKHAN), a technology company specializing in lab-grown electronics-grade diamond materials today announced that it has raised $20 million of committed capital led by strategic financial partners. In addition to the funding round, AKHAN also announced the hiring of Craig Mitchell as Chief Executive Officer and John Thode as COO/President. The highly skilled and distinguished executives, with decades of leadership experience in technology and supply chain development, manufacturing operations and intellectual property licensing, will be essential to AKHAN as it brings its breakthrough Miraj Diamond® Technology to market.
“I’m thrilled to be joining the AKHAN team at this moment,” said Mr. Mitchell, formerly the President of Invensas and General Manager of the Semiconductor IP Business at Xperi, a leading consumer and entertainment solutions licensing company. “I’ve been very impressed by AKHAN’s Miraj Diamond® technology and the substantial value it immediately brings to huge, important markets. I know through firsthand experience developing and licensing technologies over 30 years that this type of game-changing technology is rare and very special. I look forward to working with the AKHAN team, our partners and customers to scale and broadly commercialize this technology around the world.”
“AKHAN’s technology matched with business expertise is a powerful combination,” said Tom Lacey, former interim CEO who will now continue as Board Chairman. “The Board of Directors are happy to have such an experienced team back together as Craig, John and I have successfully developed and licensed semiconductor and other innovative technologies at Tessera (now Xperi). There’s no doubt this is the right team to commercialize AKHAN’s technologies.”
With a focus on diamond display glass for use in consumer, automotive, defense, and industrial applications, Mitchell and Thode will oversee AKHAN’s strategic growth and capital investments. The Gurnee, Illinois facility, dubbed “Diamond Mine 1,” will be expanded to enhance AKHAN’s development and manufacturing capabilities to bring commercial products to market, including its unprecedented Miraj Diamond® Glass. Due to diamond’s inherent properties, AKHAN’s Miraj Diamond® Glass has proven to be six times stronger, 10 times harder and over 800 times cooler than leading flagship competitor glass.
“My career has been focused on innovation and entrepreneurship, bringing multiple disruptive technologies to market,” said John Thode. “America’s Midwest is quickly becoming the fastest growing entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country. For years, our institutions have been fueling Silicon Valley growth and now we, the Midwest and AKHAN specifically, are offering significant opportunities for the world’s best trained engineers to stay in the Midwest. The AKHAN team is a premier example of Midwest hi-tech capability. I’m looking forward to leveraging my experiences to support the team to accomplish AKHAN’s big goals.”
AKHAN’s Miraj Diamond® Technology will revolutionize the future through its Glass, Optics and Electronics technology offerings. AKHAN’s patented and proprietary designs, processes, materials, and equipment will empower business leaders and engineers to develop and commercialize a new generation of products that are stronger, lighter, more powerful and more heat tolerant.
“Everyone is in search of the sleekest cell phone that doesn’t need to be protected by a bulky case, but that’s only the beginning when it comes to AKHAN and our diamond technology,” said Adam Khan, Founder of AKHAN. “Our diamond technology has a myriad of applications. With the capital raised and key additions to our leadership team, we can now scale quickly to meet the rapidly increasing demand for this enabling platform. I couldn’t be more excited about our future.”
About AKHAN
AKHAN is enabling the “Diamond Age” of innovation. The technology company specializes in the fabrication and application of synthetic, lab grown, electronics-grade diamond materials that deliver unprecedented performance in applications ranging from display glass and optics to semiconductors for consumer, automotive, defense and industrial markets. AKHAN is headquartered in Gurnee, Lake County, Illinois. Additional information about AKHAN is available on the Company’s website at http://www.akhansemi.com/.
