ANN ARBOR, Mich. and FREMONT, Calif. -- Ardesta LLC (www.ardesta.com) and NanoGram (www.nanogram.com) announced that they have entered into a strategic relationship that will enable the Fremont, Calif. company to accelerate commercialization of unique nanomaterials in medical, energy storage and other markets. As part of this broad relationship, Ardesta has made an equity investment in NanoGram’s parent company, NeoPhotonics (NEO = Nano Enabled Optics).NeoPhotonics is leveraging its proprietary nanomaterials platform to develop planar integrated optical components, while NanoGram is focused on applications for its intellectual property outside of telecommunications and photonics. Ardesta will work to identify and pursue applications for the Company’s core technology outside of the optical space. The partnership also includes cooperation on technical development and direction, as well as joint advisory board status. Ardesta is the leading company in the emerging “Small Tech” field of nanotechnology, MEMS and microsystems. “We made the decision to partner with NeoPhotonics because we believe that a combination of their unique process platform and our dedicated focus on small tech commercialization will bring to the market revolutionary applications for nanomaterials both inside and outside of the optical arena,” Rick Snyder, Ardesta’s CEO said. Timothy S. Jenks, NeoPhotonics’ CEO added, “Our recent $25 million funding from leading venture capital firms and corporate partners enables us to bring to market our initial integrated optical products derived from our nanomaterials platform. And the Ardesta relationship will further leverage our platform technology in fields beyond photonics, expanding our proprietary capabilities into electrochemical and biomedical applications.”Ardesta LLCNanoGram Corp.Neo Photonics Corp.