D.Light Design Receives 5.5 Million

Thursday, November 6, 2008

D. Light Design today announced it has secured Series A financing led by Nexus India Capital, along with Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Garage Technology Ventures, Mahindra and Mahindra, and social funds Acumen Fund and Gray Matters Capital.

The same team of investors provided seed funding for D. Light when it was founded over a year ago with the mission to bring clean, safe, and affordable light to 1.6 billion people living without electricity.

D. Light aims to eradicate the kerosene lantern and provide much brighter light for millions of households in the developing world through innovative solar and LED technologies.

Earlier this year, D. Light introduced several product series of AC and solar-chargeable LED lighting products, custom-designed for the families living at the base-of-the-pyramid and surviving on just a few dollars a day.

The products feature multiple brightness settings, fast-charging capabilities, and are designed to withstand the challenging environments in which D. Light customers live. The products are being sold in India and Africa, with market tests ongoing throughout the world.

This funding allows the Silicon Valley social enterprise, now based in New Delhi, to continue to scale quickly to meet the worldwide demand for off-grid modern lighting. The staff team has already grown exponentially into a multi-national team of product designers, engineers, and sales personnel.

In the coming months, D. Light will grow its manufacturing and distribution capacity to make a lasting dent in the global problem of dangerous and polluting fuel-based lighting.

D. Light has a mission to eliminate kerosene lamps in our villages by providing high quality solar-based solutions at price points significantly below comparable products, said Sandeep Singhal, Partner at Nexus India Capital. The productivity improvement from their solution is huge and we are very excited to be backing a team that has the commitment and leadership to fulfill this mission.

We are delighted to receive the financial support of such a renowned team of investors. This is a high vote of confidence in our products and our business model, said D. Light Design CEO Sam Goldman.

We look forward to better serving the millions of households who deserve and aspire for an increasingly higher quality of life-with greater economic and educational opportunities-that modern lighting provides.

Source: Press Release (link opens in a new window)