Versatilis LLC (www.versatls.com) announced today the launch of VerLASE Technologies, a new venture in lasers and solid state lighting that will further develop and commercialize an advanced technology that Versatilis had been stealthily developing over several years. Using novel materials and processes, surface emitting laser diodes and novel LEDs are an early product focus. Wakley Limited, a Hong Kong based private investment group led the initial private investment round into the new Company, details of which were not disclosed.

LEDs and laser diodes today emit light in wavelengths limited by the materials technology used. In the visible spectrum, for example, these are mainly in blue or red colors. In LEDs, phosphors are then used to convert the light into other colors, including white, with associated losses in efficiency and increased costs. In laser diodes, colors such as green are typically achieved by frequency doubling, a technique which limits the efficiency and wavelengths that can be attained. VerLASE’s technology circumvents these problems to obtain very high brightness light sources emitting light directly at novel wavelengths and at lower costs.

“We have a different materials approach to laser diodes, for example, that can enable devices emitting directly in green and other colors, an industry first. We are pleased to have attracted investors of Wakley’s stature into our new venture,” said George Powch, Versatilis CEO who will lead the new Company with CTO Ajay Jain, the inventor of the technology, as Chief Technology Officer. VerLASE is working with key partners to show working devices, and plans to selectively sample first products by the end of the year. Early discussions are ongoing with prospective manufacturing partners.

Versatilis LLC is a technology development company founded in 2004 in Shelburne, VT by Ajay Jain and George Powch to focus on advanced materials and manufacturing processes for specialized applications in industries ranging from defense to flexible displays to solar cells. It works with leading research universities, including Albany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) where Versatilis is a member of the iCLEAN Incubator, and with associates and partners around the world. The company has won numerous Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Awards from U.S. Government Agencies including DOE, DARPA, ONR and ARL, and has licensed out several of its technologies. It is a 2006 winner of the National Roland Tibbetts Award for SBIR Excellence, and a 2011 Finalist of the New Energy Symposium at the New York Academy of Sciences. Versatilis is funded by a number of private investors who specialize in leading edge technology ventures.

Wakley Limited is a private investment group focused on high technology ventures with significant intellectual property in high growth energy markets.