e2ip technologies Completes $120 Million Growth Funding Round

HMI-IIoT solutions provider to the world's market leaders to fuel international growth and productization of its Smart Structural Surface™ IP portfolio

MONTREAL, April 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- e₂ip technologies, a global printed electronics and embedded system technologies innovation leader of the Human Machine Interface (HMI) and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) sectors, announced today the completion of its oversubscribed global growth funding round. The Series B financing is co-led by Export Development Canada (EDC) and McRock Capital with existing investor Investissement Québec, who more than doubles its position, and new investor DNA Fund. The round is also supported by National Bank of Canada (BNC). Founding investors W and Namakor remain.

The investment provides e₂ip technologies with growth capital to productize decades of HMI and IIoT technology leadership from its high-performance engineered solutions business and to grow global revenue through the digital deployment of its productized and ready-to-use printed electronics, embedded systems, touchscreen and In-Mold-Electronics (IME) platforms.

"e₂ip's technology is revolutionizing the HMI and IIoT industry. Backed by world-class proprietary and patented technology, they are supporting their customers from ideation to fabrication," said Guillermo Freire, Senior Vice-President, Mid-Market Group at EDC. "Working with like-minded investors, EDC is thrilled to have played a meaningful role in this round of funding. As a strategic investor, EDC can support e₂ip by leveraging our financial solutions, trade knowledge and international networks, providing the company with even more momentum to expand into new markets and become a more dominant international market leader."

The round will enable e₂ip to immediately expand its embedded systems capabilities in its existing high-volume facility in Casablanca, Morocco. Canadian facilities will additionally be consolidated into a new integrated Manufacturing-R&D facility in Montreal by the end of 2024, which will house e₂ip's new head office.

The company will also immediately begin the deployment of the new production lines in its Canadian facilities to provide global market leaders with a high volume, fully scalable In-Mold-Electronics Manufacturing Service (IM-EMS). Leveraging e₂ip's global portfolio of patents, these facilities will be the first fully integrated center of excellence, from material and process innovation to product ideation, industrial design, engineering and through to high-volume fabrication.

"e₂ip's Smart Structural Surface^™ technologies enable functions such as touch controls, lighting, telecommunication and energy harvesting to be printed using additive manufacturing processes, and then directly integrated within the structural surface material of the objects, machines, appliances, and systems we all interact with in our everyday lives," said Eric Saint-Jacques, CEO of e₂ip technologies. "This significantly reduces the eco-footprint and cost of our customers' products as the structural material is reused to integrate functions within the material, during the automated surface manufacturing process, versus adding components, labour and cost to the exterior of the structure during the final assembly. Overall weight and space are further reduced, and the overall design is made more appealing, usable and durable, creating greater differentiation for our market leading customers."

e₂ip is part of the advanced materials research and innovation center PRIMA Québec and the National Research Council of Canada, where, in partnership with different universities, it invests in fundamental research and applied science. The company's R&D teams have developed market disruptive innovations through these collaborations, which have added further depth to the company's broad patent portfolio of Smart Structural Surface^™ technologies.

"Technology is a flagship sector for our economy, and Investissement Québec is strongly committed to supporting companies such as e₂ip, proven leaders who put innovation at the forefront of their business strategy. We are proud to renew our partnership with e₂ip and to help them grow and develop new international markets" said Guy LeBlanc, President and CEO of Investissement Québec.

DNA Fund, a Quebec-based private Equity fund, joins the e₂ip investor eco-system with this round. "We are proud to support a great Québec-based company that has a long history of operational excellence in its transition towards a product-based business model and a global technology leadership," said Stéphane Léveillé, CEO and co-Founder of DNA Fund.

e₂ip develops new technologies and products that transform how people interact with the physical world through innovations in printed electronics, material science, advanced manufacturing processes and embedded system-touchscreen development. From ideation to fabrication, we rethink the boundaries between technology and design to deliver innovative Human Machine Interface (HMI), Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Smart Structural Surface^™ technologies, products and solutions to global market leaders in the aerospace, medical, industrial, transportation and appliance sectors.

Annie Couture, e2ip technologies, Director, Strategy Execution, a.couture@e2ip.com, 514-575-7426; For interview requests: Mylène Demers, mdemers@casacom.ca, 514-261-5840