Executive Summary
From the time it was first mentioned in the 1980s by K.
Eric Drexler, the term “nanotechnology” has both
altered and penetrated the American popular consciousness.
Although Drexler was specifically referring to the possibility
of assembling functional machines at the molecular level,
an idea first popularized by Richard Feynman in 1959, “nanotechnology”
has come to describe a wide range of materials-based technologies
that take advantage of unique properties that emerge at
scales below about 100 nm.
This takes in a great variety of technologies, applications,
and products, both old and new. And it is this very variety
that drives the accelerating interest in nanotechnology
in the US. A broad segment of the population is now familiar
with “nanopants” that repel stains and colorless
sunblocks that are enabled by nanoparticles, and fascinated
at the prospect of hyperfast computers, clean energy sources,
and super soldiers.
Over the past few years, this popular interest has translated
into both political action and increasing investment, with
notable acceleration throughout 2003 and into early 2004.
On the political front, the US enacted the 21st Century
Nanotechnology Research and Development Act in December,
2003, driven by claims that nanotechnology would eventually
become a trillion dollar industry. The Act wrote into law
the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) that had been
announced by President Bill Clinton in 2000 and increasingly
supported by presidential budgets since then. The NNI had
originally been funded at $464 million in FY 2001 (September,
2000 through October, 2001) and had enjoyed increasing appropriations
year after year to an estimated $961 million for FY 2004.
The Act included budget authorizations totaling $3.7 billion
for nanotechnology R&D through FY 2008. President George
W. Bush’s FY 2005 budget request for the NNI is $982
million.
Financial trends also show accelerating interest in nanotechnology
despite lingering effects of the US recession in 2001. In
2003, a year when a 20-year US unemployment record was breached,
the value of a publicly traded venture capital firm that
specializes in nanotechnology investments rose from less
than $3.00 per share to more than $15.00 per share, beating
the S&P 500 by some 400% (Harris & Harris NASDAQ:TINY).
The year 2003 also saw some $304 million in venture capital
funding for nanotechnology, a 42% increase over 2002. Although
this represents a small portion of total venture capital
funding, just over 3%, it is an increase over the 2% fraction
in 2002. The composition of venture funding in nanotechnology
is also changing. In 2001, some 75% of nanotechnology deals
were startup and early stage rounds. By 2003, more than
60% of the deals were for expansion and late stage rounds.
This in part accounts for the increased level of investment,
and it is an indicator of progress in executing business
plans, or at least progress toward a liquidation event.
In fact, as of April, 2004, Nanosys, Inc., which garnered
a $38 million late stage investment in the second quarter
of 2003, has filed a registration statement in anticipation
of an initial public offering.
There is reason to believe that the public financial markets
are ready to invest in nanotechnology. Of course, there
is the aforementioned financial success of Harris &
Harris. More recently, Merrill Lynch established a “Nanotech
Index” to track the growth of nanotechnology in response
to intense client interest. The non-investable index is
quoted on the American Stock Exchange (NNZ). It consists
of 22 small to midcap companies whose future business strategy
is significantly based on nanotechnology. The largest of
these, in terms of market cap, is Cabot Corporation (NYSE:CBT),
at just over $2 billion, and at its establishment the index
included two companies with market caps below $100 million.
Expressly excluded are large companies whose valuations
are not influenced by their nanotechnology activities, however
significant they may be. Thus, companies like IBM, Motorola,
DuPont, GE and so on, are not in the index.
The heightened political and financial activity is certainly
an indicator of Americans’ broad based belief that
substantial opportunities exist in nanotechnology. And they
create conditions that foster accelerated development and
commercialization of new products and processes that bear
the nanotechnology label. Yet it is worth asking whether
these opportunities are real, or just hype. Nanotechnology
itself remains a diverse admixture of revolutionary applications
and rather ordinary product improvements. Our purpose here
is to review nanotechnologies as they relate to the Information
Technology and Electronics industry and the Materials and
Chemicals sector, and to add some detail to these emerging
opportunities.
Table: Research Targets
| Segment |
Outcome |
| IT Electronics |
Quantum Dot
Single-Electron Transistor, Memory
Nanowire
Nonplanar Devices
Photonic Crystal
High Density Optical Data Storage
Organic Electro luminescence
Spintronics
MRAM
|
| Chemical/Material |
Nano Carbon
Nano Metals
Nano Glass
High Strength Ceramics
High Temperature Superconductor
Super Fine Particles
Dendrimers
Photo-catalyst
|
Report Table of Contents
Part 1: Nanotechnology in the USA - An Overview
1.1 Summary: Overall Trends and Directions
1.2 Important findings
1.2.1 Ranking of Market Size
1.2.1.A IT Electronics
1.2.1.B Chemicals/Materials
1.2.2 Target Product and Commercialization
1.2.2.A IT Electronics
1.2.2.B Chemicals/Materials
1.2.3 Market Development (Fastest Development Ranking)
1.2.3.A IT Electronics
1.2.3.B Chemicals/Materials
1.2.4 Capital Investment
1.2.4.A IT Electronics
1.2.4.B Chemicals/Materials
1.2.5 Top Ranking Development Company by Segment
1.2.5.A IT Electronics
1.2.5.B Chemicals/Materials
Part 2: Nanotechnology R&D, Applications and Marketing
Review
2.A IT Electronics
2.A.1 Quantum Dot
2.A.1.1 R&D Review
2.A.1.2 Investment Review
2.A.1.3 Commercial Introduction Review
2.A.1.4 Market Development Scenario and Perspective
2.A.1.5 Projected Size of Market after Commercialization
2.A.1.6 Top 5 Companies Activity (Profile)
2.A.1.7 Others, Universities and Research Centers
2.A.2 Single-Electron Transistor, Memory
2.A.2.1 R&D Review
2.A.2.2 Investment Review
2.A.2.3 Commercial Introduction Review
2.A.2.4 Market Development Scenario and Perspective
2.A.2.5 Projected Size of Market after Commercialization
2.A.2.6 Top 5 Companies Activity (Profile)
2.A.2.7 Others, Universities and Research Centers
2.A.3 Nanowire
2.A.3.1 R&D Review
2.A.3.2 Investment Review
2.A.3.3 Commercial Introduction Review
2.A.3.4 Market Development Scenario and Perspective
2.A.3.5 Projected Size of Market after Commercialization
2.A.3.6 Top 5 Companies Activity (Profile)
2.A.3.7 Others, Universities and Research Centers
2.A.4 Nonplanar Devices
2.A.4.1 R&D Review
2.A.4.2 Investment Review
2.A.4.3 Commercial Introduction Review
2.A.4.4 Market Development Scenario and Perspective
2.A.4.5 Projected Size of Market after Commercialization
2.A.4.6 Top 5 Companies Activity (Profile)
2.A.4.7 Others, Universities and Research Centers
2.A.5 Photonic Crystal
2.A.5.1 R&D Review
2.A.5.2 Investment Review
2.A.5.3 Commercial Introduction Review
2.A.5.4 Market Development Scenario and Perspective
2.A.5.5 Projected Size of Market after Commercialization
2.A.5.6 Top 5 Companies Activity (Profile)
2.A.5.7 Others, Universities and Research Centers
2.A.6 High Density Optical data Storage
2.A.6.1 R&D Review
2.A.6.2 Investment Review
2.A.6.3 Commercial Introduction Review
2.A.6.4 Market Development Scenario and Perspective
2.A.6.5 Projected Size of Market after Commercialization
2.A.6.6 Top 5 Companies Activity (Profile)
2.A.6.7 Others, Universities and Research Centers
2.A.7 Organic Electroluminescence
2.A.7.1 R&D Review
2.A.7.2 Investment Review
2.A.7.3 Commercial Introduction Review
2.A.7.4 Market Development Scenario and Perspective
2.A.7.5 Projected Size of Market after Commercialization
2.A.7.6 Top 5 Companies Activity (Profile)
2.A.7.7 Others, Universities and Research Centers
2.A.8 Spintronics
2.A.8.1 R&D Review
2.A.8.2 Investment Review
2.A.8.3 Commercial Introduction Review
2.A.8.4 Market Development Scenario and Perspective
2.A.8.5 Projected Size of Market after Commercialization
2.A.8.6 Top 5 Companies Activity (Profile)
2.A.8.7 Others, Universities and Research Centers
2.A.9 MRAM
2.A.9.1 R&D Review
2.A.9.2 Investment Review
2.A.9.3 Commercial Introduction Review
2.A.9.4 Market Development Scenario and Perspective
2.A.9.5 Projected Size of Market after Commercialization
2.A.9.6 Top 5 Companies Activity (Profile)
2.A.9.7 Others, Universities and Research Centers
2.B Chemical/Material
2.B.1 Nano Carbon
2.B.1.1 R&D Review
2.B.1.2 Investment Review
2.B.1.3 Commercial Introduction Review
2.B.1.4 Market Development Scenario and Perspective
2.B.1.5 Projected Size of Market after Commercialization
2.B.1.6 Top 5 Companies Activity (Profile)
2.B.1.7 Others, Universities and Research Centers
2.B.2 Nano Metals
2.B.2.1 R&D Review
2.B.2.2 Investment Review
2.B.2.3 Commercial Introduction Review
2.B.2.4 Market Development Scenario and Perspective
2.B.2.5 Projected Size of Market after Commercialization
2.B.2.6 Top 5 Companies Activity (Profile)
2.B.2.7 Others, Universities and Research Centers
2.B.3 Nano Glass
2.B.3.1 R&D Review
2.B.3.2 Investment Review
2.B.3.3 Commercial Introduction Review
2.B.3.4 Market Development Scenario and Perspective
2.B.3.5 Projected Size of Market after Commercialization
2.B.3.6 Top 5 Companies Activity (Profile)
2.B.3.7 Others, Universities and Research Centers
2.B.4 High Strength Ceramics
2.B.4.1 R&D Review
2.B.4.2 Investment Review
2.B.4.3 Commercial Introduction Review
2.B.4.4 Market Development Scenario and Perspective
2.B.4.5 Projected Size of Market after Commercialization
2.B.4.6 Top 5 Companies Activity (Profile)
2.B.4.7 Others, Universities and Research Centers
2.B.5 High Temperature Superconductor
2.B.5.1 R&D Review
2.B.5.2 Investment Review
2.B.5.3 Commercial Introduction Review
2.B.5.4 Market Development Scenario and Perspective
2.B.5.5 Projected Size of Market after Commercialization
2.B.5.6 Top 5 Companies Activity (Profile)
2.B.5.7 Others, Universities and Research Centers
2.B.6 Super Fine Particles
2.B.6.1 R&D Review
2.B.6.2 Investment Review
2.B.6.3 Commercial Introduction Review
2.B.6.4 Market Development Scenario and Perspective
2.B.6.5 Projected Size of Market after Commercialization
2.B.6.6 Top 5 Companies Activity (Profile)
2.B.6.7 Others, Universities and Research Centers
2.B.7 Dendrimers
2.B.7.1 R&D Review
2.B.7.2 Investment Review
2.B.7.3 Commercial Introduction Review
2.B.7.4 Market Development Scenario and Perspective
2.B.7.5 Projected Size of Market after Commercialization
2.B.7.6 Top 5 Companies Activity (Profile)
2.B.7.7 Others, Universities and Research Centers
2.B.8 Photocatalyst
2.B.8.1 R&D Review
2.B.8.2 Investment Review
2.B.8.3 Commercial Introduction Review
2.B.8.4 Market Development Scenario and Perspective
2.B.8.5 Projected Size of Market after Commercialization
2.B.8.6 Top 5 Companies Activity (Profile)
2.B.8.7 Others, Universities and Research Centers
Press
Release
Order
Form
