CHICAGO--AKHAN, a technology company specializing in lab-grown electronics-grade diamond materials, today announced Kirk Hasserjian has joined its Board of Directors. The highly skilled executive joins AKHAN to support the commercialization of its Miraj Diamond® Platform.
“I’m thrilled to be joining the AKHAN Board,” said Mr. Hasserjian. “I’ve been very impressed by AKHAN’s Miraj Diamond® technology, the team, and its ability to serve and disrupt big markets. The company’s inventions and R&D are exceptional – and I look forward to supporting their operations, manufacturing cell optimization and overall growth plans.”
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Kirk for many years at both Intel and Applied Materials and know first-hand his amazingly diverse skillset,” said Tom Lacey, AKHAN’s Chairman of the Board. “His experience successfully scaling multiple technologies into high volume markets is directly relevant to our business objectives. He will be a great complement to our team.”
Mr. Hasserjian’s career has spanned over 38 years in the high technology arena with a variety of leadership roles in R&D, operations, manufacturing, development, and data analytics. He’s held technical and management positions at Intel, Formfactor, and Applied Materials. He is also a former director on the board of GT Advanced Technologies, a leader in Silicon Carbide (SiC) crystal growth. Mr. Hasserjian received his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from the University of San Francisco and a Master of Science degree in chemical engineering from Stanford University.
“Kirk is a great addition to the AKHAN Board,” said AKHAN CEO Craig Mitchell. “In addition to his extensive corporate experience, he’s a thoughtful, insightful person with a sharp, analytical mind. We are confident he will help us avoid potential pitfalls associated with the commercialization of new technologies and quickly achieve our high-volume production 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.
Alan Patterson
Akhan, a manufacturer of diamond materials for the semiconductor industry, has completed a $20 million funding round with financial partners including long-standing investors.
The company will expand its facility in Gurnee, Ill., dubbed “Diamond Mine 1,” to enhance manufacturing capabilities as the company brings commercial products to market.
Akhan claims its diamond glass is six times stronger, 10 times harder and over 800 times cooler than leading competitors’ glass.
“Everyone is in search of the sleekest cell phone that doesn’t need to be protected by a bulkycase, but that’s only the beginning,” said Akhan founder Adam Khan. “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.”
The company foresees the U.S. Midwest emerging as a U.S. electronics manufacturing hub due to its world-class academic institutions, growing venture capital base and relatively lowcost of living. Intel recently chose Ohio as the location for a $20 billion chip fab.
Akhan has plans for additional fundraising, with no schedule established. Akhan plans to make semiconductor materials the focus of its product development.
“The Akhan diamond platform has many applications, and semi has longer development and insertion times, so Miraj Diamond glass is the major focus due the most imminent timing from a market impact standpoint,” Khan said in an interview.
In 2014, the U.S. Energy Department’s Argonne National Laboratory near Akhan’s Illinois facility announced an IP licensing agreement with the company as part of a public-private partnership aimed at commercializing diamond-based semiconductor technologies.
Akhan has been manufacturing 12-inch wafers using a CMOS diamond technology at its facility since last year.
Diamond is a candidate to replace some special materials such as silicon carbide and gallium nitride in semiconductor applications for military and aerospace, Khan noted in an interview last year.
Operating in high-temperature, high-power environments is a basic requirement for new materials needed to extend the performance of silicon. Khan also sees new applications for diamond CMOS in the much larger automotive sector, with its own demands for operation instressful, high-power applications.
Executive hires
In addition to the funding round, Akhan announced the hiring of Craig Mitchell as CEO and John Thode as COO and president. The two bring experience in supply chain development,manufacturing and IP licensing.
Mitchell previously served as president of Invensas and general manager of the semiconductor IP business at Xperi, a consumer and entertainment licensing company. “Iknow through firsthand experience developing and licensing technologies over 30 years that this type of game-changing technology is rare and very special,” said Mitchell.
With a focus on diamond display glass for consumer, automotive, military and industrialapplications, Mitchell and Thode will also oversee Akhan’s strategic growth and capitalinvestments.
AKHAN, a technology company specializing in lab-grown electronics-grade diamond materials announced the closing of a $20-million capital raise with financial partners including long-standing investors and significant family offices.
In addition to the funding round, AKHAN also announced the hiring of Craig Mitchell CEO and John Thode as COO/president. With decades of leadership experience in technology and supply chain development, manufacturing operations and intellectual property licensing, both executives will be essential to AKHAN as it brings its Miraj Diamond Technology to market.
“I’m thrilled to be joining the AKHAN team at this moment”, said 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, as well as the advanced state of engagements with premier customers. I know through firsthand experience developing and licensing technologies over 30 years that this type of game-changing technology is rare and very special.”
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.
Jessica Mathews
AKHAN Semiconductor, a Gurnee, Ill.-based technology company specializing in lab-grown electronics-grade diamond materials, raised $20 million in funding from investors including Zahid Group Holdings.
Mark Lapedus
AKHAN Semiconductor, a developer of diamond semiconductors, has raised $20 million of committed capital led by strategic financial partners. Craig Mitchell, formerly the president of Invensas and general manager of the Semiconductor IP Business at Xperi, has been name CEO of the company.
Greg Nichols
A company aiming to put diamonds in your hand just got a big backing to make its diamond display technology a reality. AKHAN Semiconductor, specializing in lab-grown electronics-grade diamond materials, locked in $20 million to commercialize its product.
AKHAN is taking on the competitive electronics display market. Corning, which makes Gorilla Glass, is the leader in the space. AKHAN thinks its underlying technologies and intellectual property will make it a dominant player. It plans to leverage its designs, processes, materials, and equipment to 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 founder Adam Khan. "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."
The premise is that screens can become harder and more durable without becoming heavier. The company's optical products take advantage of the properties of bulk natural diamonds in proprietary thin-films conducive for single & multilayer optical windows, mirrors, and lenses. As part of its commercialization efforts, the company will use the capital in part to expand its Gurnee, Illinois, facility, which it calls "Diamond Mine 1." AKHAN boasts that its proprietary Miraj Diamond Glass is six times stronger, 10 times harder, and resists heating significantly better than leading flagship competitor glass.
The company will add semiconductor alums to its leadership team along with the raise.
"I'm thrilled to be joining the AKHAN team at this moment", said new CEO Craig 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."
Will Gendron
You’ve probably experienced a moment where, in a flash of clumsiness or mindlessness, your smartphone slips from your hands and lands screen-down on some hard surface. In the event that the screen escapes unscathed, maybe you opt to go with a protective sleeve, though those can end up tattered quite easily. The solution is simple — have you ever considered opting for a diamond display?
As noted by ZDNet, a diamond screen-lining could be commercially viable in the near future. AKHAN could be the one to make that a reality; it’s a semiconductor manufacturer that specializes in diamond-based solutions for glass and electronics. The company recently secured $20 million in funding to introduce its Miraj Diamond Glass to the devices in most of our pockets.
AKHAN is gearing up to become a major competitor in the electronics display space. One major issue that screen protection faces is the ability to create a product that enhances durability without becoming too heavy. Miraj Glass is positioned as an industry disruptor, with its ability to combine “chemically-hardened aluminosilicate (e.g. Corning Gorilla Glass®), ceramic glass (e.g. Corning Ceramic Shield®), and BK-7,” for a display that is harder, stronger, and cooler to the touch than leading glass products.
The benefits of diamond— AKHAN debuted the world’s first diamond smartphone screen in 2017, made possible by its unique combination of materials, processes, and and proprietary designs. The company claims that its diamond screen protectors are six times stronger, ten times harder, and over eight-hundred times cooler than leading glass solutions.
Miraj Diamond Optics takes advantage of the properties of bulk natural diamond found in “proprietary thin-films conducive for single & multilayer optical windows, mirrors, and lenses.” Additional benefits include water- and oil-resistance as well as protection in extreme environments.
AKHAN will be using the newly raised capital to bolster its Gurnee, Illinois, facility, dubbed "Diamond Mine 1." Its diamond-screen technology can also be applied to meet other consumer tech needs for wearables and AR/VR systems.
The semiconductor company was founded in 2013, and its products are implemented across a range of industries from aerospace and defense systems to consumer electronics. According to AKHAN, current glass screen technology has reached its peak — time to move into the diamond era.
Really there’s only one question left, in our minds: Will it fold?
Alan Patterson
Akhan, a manufacturer of diamond materials for the semiconductor industry, has completed a $20 million funding round with financial partners including long-standing investors.
The company will expand its facility in Gurnee, Ill., dubbed “Diamond Mine 1,” to enhance manufacturing capabilities as the company brings commercial products to market.
Akhan claims its diamond glass is six times stronger, 10 times harder and over 800 times cooler than leading competitors’ glass.
“Everyone is in search of the sleekest cell phone that doesn’t need to be protected by a bulkycase, but that’s only the beginning,” said Akhan founder Adam Khan. “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.”
The company foresees the U.S. Midwest emerging as a U.S. electronics manufacturing hub due to its world-class academic institutions, growing venture capital base and relatively lowcost of living. Intel recently chose Ohio as the location for a $20 billion chip fab.
Akhan has plans for additional fundraising, with no schedule established. Akhan plans to make semiconductor materials the focus of its product development.
“The Akhan diamond platform has many applications, and semi has longer development and insertion times, so Miraj Diamond glass is the major focus due the most imminent timing from a market impact standpoint,” Khan said in an interview.
In 2014, the U.S. Energy Department’s Argonne National Laboratory near Akhan’s Illinois facility announced an IP licensing agreement with the company as part of a public-private partnership aimed at commercializing diamond-based semiconductor technologies.
Akhan has been manufacturing 12-inch wafers using a CMOS diamond technology at its facility since last year.
Diamond is a candidate to replace some special materials such as silicon carbide and gallium nitride in semiconductor applications for military and aerospace, Khan noted in an interview last year.
Operating in high-temperature, high-power environments is a basic requirement for new materials needed to extend the performance of silicon. Khan also sees new applications for diamond CMOS in the much larger automotive sector, with its own demands for operation instressful, high-power applications.
Executive hires
In addition to the funding round, Akhan announced the hiring of Craig Mitchell as CEO and John Thode as COO and president. The two bring experience in supply chain development,manufacturing and IP licensing.
Mitchell previously served as president of Invensas and general manager of the semiconductor IP business at Xperi, a consumer and entertainment licensing company. “Iknow through firsthand experience developing and licensing technologies over 30 years that this type of game-changing technology is rare and very special,” said Mitchell.
With a focus on diamond display glass for consumer, automotive, military and industrialapplications, Mitchell and Thode will also oversee Akhan’s strategic growth and capitalinvestments.
Jim Dallke
AKHAN Semiconductor, a Chicago-area tech firm that makes lab-grown diamonds, just hauled in $20 million in new funding.
AKHAN develops synthetic, lab-grown diamonds not for the jewelry industry, but for electronics. The firm creates diamond display glass for consumer electronics, the automotive industry and other sectors. The company says its diamond glass is six times stronger and 10 times harder than traditional glass.
Investors in AKHAN's round include Zahid Group Holdings, Reza Investment Company GM Haydar Alireza and others.
The company also announced Thursday that it has hired Craig Mitchell as its new CEO. Mitchell was formerly the president of Invensas and general manager of the semiconductor IP business at Xperi.
Founded in 2013 and based in suburban Gurnee, Illinois, AKHAN debuted its first diamond smartphone screen in 2017. The company will use the new funding to expand its Gurnee facility and bring its commercial products to market.
AKHAN's technology has a range of potential uses, including with the Department of Defense. The firm partnered with Lockheed Martin in 2019 to show how diamond-coating technology could be used as a countermeasure to directed energy weapons. Its diamonds can also be used as a semiconductor material in electronics.
Abel Rodriguez
Diamonds are one of the most desirable items for many people. They make for enchanting jewelry, however, their uses extend beyond that. In medical and industrial industries, diamonds are used as cutting tools because of their resilient strength. One company finding uses for the carbon gem is AKHAN Semiconductor and it recently secured a $20 million investment to advance its glass diamond technology.
AKHAN is a tech company that specializes in creating lab-grown diamonds used in commercial products like phones and smartwatches. Miraj Diamond Glass is manufactured by AKHAN and is inlaid with lab-grown diamonds that make the screens thinner and about six times stronger than other tech used for phone screens, according to AKHAN.
For automotive, housing and defense use, AKHAN manufacturers Miraj Diamond Optics. The thermal, shock-resistant product can withstand high winds because the glass is inlaid with a thin film of diamonds in the center.
According to the company, Miraj Diamond Optics enhances survivability in aircraft, too. In 2019, AKHAN demoed the technology for the U.S. Army in partnership with Lockheed Martin.
“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,” AKHAN Founder Adam Khan said in a statement. “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.”
The $20 million investment is in the form of a committed capital agreement from unnamed “strategic financial partners.”
Along with the funding, AKHAN also announced the appointment of Craig Mitchell as the company’s new CEO and John Thode as COO and president.
AKHAN was launched in 2013 and is based in Gurnee. Prior to the capital agreement, the company had raised $17.9 million, according to Crunchbase.
Dan Primack
AKHAN Semiconductor, a Gurnee, Ill.-based developer of lab-grown diamond materials for electronics, raised $20m from backers like Zahid Group Holdings.
CHICAGO--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.”