Twelve emerging technology companies from Europe and North America have been selected to participate in funding opportunities at the 2010 Invest in Photonics International Partnering Convention to be held March 18-19. Twelve of its 24 applicants made the final selection based on the following criteria: Relevance of the company business to the field of photonics Size and growth potential of the addressable market Novelty of the application or product Product and/or application competitive advantage Viability of the business model Coherence between a five-year business plan and funding requested Management strength During the convention’s three “Business Time” sessions, the seed, expansion and later stage small and medium-sized companies will meet with investors and seek potential funding in the region of EUR 30 million. The median seed capital investment sought is less than EUR 2.5M. Including seven firms from various regions in France, the selected companies also come from Belgium, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands. They will address optical transport, laser material processing, medical, imaging, metrology and intelligent lighting applications. According to a 2009 report from the Commission of the European Communities, photonics is high on the European Union agenda. With approximately 5,000 photonics manufacturers in Europe, they employ around 290,000 people, while over two million more employees in the EU depend direction on photonics products. Invest in Photonics is an investment-networking and market development event that facilitates meetings between entrepreneurs and management of emerging companies in photonics with investors and analysts. It was created in 2008 by the ALPhA technology cluster, CEA and the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce. This is the second year that a selection committee comprised of key players in the industry has selected emerging technology firms that exude potential for future success. For more information, visit: www.invest-in-photonics.com