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Allyon Capital Partners, an investor in NanoHoldings, LLC, an early stage venture fund that was founded in 2002. NanoHoldings invests in nano-energy discoveries developed by exceptional research scientists from world class universities that could radically change the way the world generates, transmits, stores and uses energy. Its business model includes selection, funding, project management through to full commercialization including licensing, joint-venture or asset sale.
Solving the world’s energy problems is one of the greatest challenges of the century and significant breakthroughs in science and technology will be needed. NanoHoldings’ investment thesis is that the promise of nanotechnology provides fertile ground for such breakthroughs. The company also believes that factors such as global warming, increased energy prices, and further political instability in the Middle East will lead to “the perfect storm” in the next 4-5 years, where a comprehensive portfolio of nano-energy investments may prove to be exceptionally valuable.
Over the past five years, NanoHoldings has built important relationships with key nanotechnology scientists at Yale University, Rice University, Pennsylvania State University, University of Texas at Dallas, University of Florida, Wake Forest University, Georgia Tech, University of Central Florida, University of Singapore, and Cambridge University, England.
Universities recognize that there is an “Innovation Funding Gap” that scientists face between the time of their scientific discoveries, which are funded by government grants, and proof of commercial viability, which is funded by traditional institutional investors. As a result, most scientists and university technology transfer officers readily admit that a significant amount of valuable technology gets marooned in the lab. Because of the extraordinary size of the energy market opportunity and the ability for existing major energy providers to use and adopt these technologies, NanoHoldings addresses this gap by co-founding—with the universities and scientists—new companies around these early stage nano-energy discoveries.
NanoHoldings views their scientists and university partners as key founding stakeholders, and in exchange for exclusive licenses to their nano-energy discoveries, they receive founders’ equity in each start-up company. NanoHoldings provides the investment capital and the day-to-day operating management expertise necessary to transform their partners’ discoveries into valuable companies.
All of NanoHoldings’ investments are sole-sourced and completely proprietary, and NanoHoldings is the majority shareholder in every case. The NanoHoldings management team consists of a group of proven investors, entrepreneurs and scientists:
James N. Lane – Chairman - Previously he was Chairman and CEO of SG Capital Partners and Head of Merchant Banking for SG in the Americas. Prior to SG, he was a General Partner at Goldman Sachs and was a founding member and Co-Head of Goldman Sachs’ highly successful Principal Investment Area.
Justin Hall-Tipping – CEO & Senior Managing Partner – He is both an experienced entrepreneur and institutional venture capitalist. Prior to NanoHoldings, he was Managing Director and Partner at SG Capital Partners.
Bhabendra Pradhan, PhD – CSO – Entrepreneur and experienced alternate energy technologist. Previously was senior manager at HydroGen, and technical director and principal scientist of new carbon initiatives at Columbian Chemicals Company.
Sha-Chelle Manning – Managing Director Government – Previously was Director of Advanced Technology Alliances for the Office of the Governor Rick Perry. Led the development of Texas’ nanotechnology strategic plan.
P. Barry Drayson – Managing Director International – Previously held senior management positions at MKI Securities and Reuters.
Click here for more Investment info 
www.nanoholdings.com
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