Tuesday, July 9, 2013

New investment capital comes to Charlestown company

Slater Invests Second Round in Power Distribution Technology Company

EDITOR’S NOTE: VoltServer is located at 9 General Stanton Drive. Click here for their website.

From Voltserver's website
Providence, R.I., July 9, 2013 – The Slater Technology Fund  announced that it has re-invested in VoltServer, a Charlestown, R.I.-based power distribution company, committing $500,000 as part of a $2-million Series A round. Slater made an initial investment of $250,000 in the company in 2012.

VoltServer has pioneered a technology, called Packet Energy Transfer (PET), that revolutionizes the way electrical power is controlled and distributed. PET digitizes electrical power into millions of discrete packets that contain both energy and data, making it possible to transmit high-voltage power more safely and less expensively than traditional technologies. 

PET is safer than other electric transmission methods because it is able to distinguish in real time between the regular current being drawn by the load equipment and a person accidentally touching the power conductors, and to automatically discontinue the power before it becomes lethal.

While the technology has applications across multiple industries, VoltServer’s initial target is the telecommunications industry. “What we discovered is that Packet Energy Transfer is a key enabler for customers in the wireless industry who are deploying the small cells that constitute the next-generation 4G networks,” said Steve Eaves, the founder and CEO of VoltServer. 

The company intends to use the latest funding to complete testing in independent laboratories, and to complete initial field testing with customers.

“VoltServer’s novel intellectual property and explosive market opportunity make the company a hugely compelling candidate for Slater and other investors,” said Thorne Sparkman, managing director of the Slater Technology Fund. 

“We believe that VoltServer’s digital approach to power has the potential to change the game of how electricity is distributed in a variety of industries, and I look forward to continuing to work with Steve and his team to make it happen.”

About Slater Technology Fund


The Slater Technology Fund is an independently chartered economic development fund that operates in accord with best practices of venture capital investing, backing new ventures committed to basing and building businesses in Rhode Island. Leveraging state and federal funding, Slater focuses its resources on the support of entrepreneurs who have the vision, leadership and commitment to build substantial commercial enterprises. 

Slater typically invests at the inception stage in the development of a new venture, often based upon ideas and technologies originating in academic institutions and/or government research laboratories located within the region. In most cases, investments are premised upon the possibility of raising substantial follow-on financing, from venture capital investors or from strategic partners, with a view toward accelerating the generation of significant numbers of high-value, high-wage jobs over the intermediate to longer-term. For more information, visit www.slaterfund.com.