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Microsoft Investing In N-Trig In a Huge Way

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If there was any doubt on what the most talked feature of Windows 7 would be, then this story from the Wall Street Journal should erase that. It seems that Microsoft will be the largest investor in a $24 million round a funding in N-Trig, the company behind HP’s multi-touch tx2 and Dell’s plagued Latititude XT Tablet PC.   Updated: here is N-Trig’s official press release. Press release after the break:

From the Wall Street Journal:

N-trig Ltd., an Israeli start-up that makes touch-sensing screen hardware, is expected to announce that Microsoft is the largest investor in a $24 million round of funding that also includes several venture-capital firms. The Redmond, Wash., software company is making the investment to help N-trig quickly adapt its technology to work well with Windows 7, the coming version of Microsoft’s dominant operating system.

N-trig, providers of DuoSenseâ„¢ technology, combining pen and capacitive touch in a single device, announced today that they have completed a fund-raising round of $24 million from investors, including Aurum Ventures, Challenger Ltd., Canaan Partners, Evergreen Venture Partners and Microsoft Corp.

With this new round of funding, N-trig plans to continue working with leading OEMs to create multi-touch notebooks and convertible computers for the mainstream marketplace. The company’s multi-touch technology will enable OEMs and ISVs to build new interface standards for both enterprise and consumer markets.

““With the introduction of multi-touch in Windows 7, integrated with N-trig’s DuoSense technology, our customers will have a new and natural way to interact with their PCs,” said Ian LeGrow, Group Program Manager for Windows Client at Microsoft Corp. ““By simulating the way people write and touch naturally, N-trig is helping to make it easier to navigate your PC and enable a new class of Windows experiences.”

N-trig’s touch technology is currently deployed in Dell’s Latitude XT, and was recently launched on HP’s TouchSmart tx2. The company also plans to announce more OEM design wins in the coming year, representing industry standardization of the N-trig hardware in the marketplace and further breaking down the barriers between the user and their computer.

““We would like to extend our thanks to all our investors for their support,” said Amichai Ben-David, CEO of N-trig. ““We will use this funding to keep fueling technology innovations in Hands-on computing, providing leading OEM brands with new product platforms and supporting ISVs to develop new applications. Additionally, we intend to expand our global supply chain by developing breakthrough mobile platforms in order to create and penetrate new markets.”

N-trig’s DuoSense takes established technology to new levels, enabling a more intuitive and natural personal computing experience. Using zero-pressure capacitive touch, DuoSense technology offers cutting edge mobility and productivity, for software and hardware that is easily integrated, and provides the user with the ability to use our two most basic input devices — the pen and our fingers.

About Canaan Partners:

Canaan Partners invests in visionary entrepreneurs and provides them the networks, insights and operational guidance required to build high-performance technology and healthcare companies. For over 20 years, Canaan has taken an active and committed role in the companies in which it invests, and has helped its portfolio companies complete about 70 mergers and acquisitions and 53 IPO’s. With $3 billion under management and a worldwide footprint, the firm is committed to catalyzing the growth of innovative companies in the digital media, communications & mobility, enterprise and clean-tech industries. Among its successes are DoubleClick, the leading online advertising solution, Match.com, the most popular online dating site in the world, CommerceOne, the company that pioneered B2B ecommerce; Capstone Turbine, first to market and world’s leading producer of commercially viable microturbine energy products; and VOIP equipment supplier Acme Packet, which was one of the top ten performing tech IPOs of 2006. Canaan has offices in California, Connecticut, India and Israel. For more information please visit: www.canaan.com.

About Evergreen:

Evergreen Venture Partners was established in 1987 as one of Israel’s first venture capital firms. Evergreen invests in early-stage Israeli and Israel-related companies in the following fields: software, Internet & media, communications and healthcare. Evergreen’s $650 million of venture capital funds under management represents one of the largest portfolios in Israel with investments in over 120 technology start-ups. Evergreen has exited successfully 35 portfolio companies through IPOs and acquisitions. Some of these companies include Traiana, Colbar, Identify, BigBand, P-Cube, Actona, Backweb, Exalink, Radvision and Radware. Evergreen is currently investing from its fifth generation fund, Evergreen V, a $200M fund. For more information, please visit www.evergreen.co.il

About N-trig

N-trig is revolutionizing the way people interact with computers by providing the industry’s first dual-mode pen and touch input device. N-trig’s DuoSense technology is the only combined pen, touch, and multi-touch interface for today’s advanced computing world. N-trig’s DuoSense dual-mode digitizer uses both pen and zero-pressure capacitive touch to provide a true Hands-on computingâ„¢ experience for mobile computers and other digital input products over a single device. DuoSense enables greater mobility and usability in the next generation of computing devices and notebook PCs, enabling new market opportunities for OEMs and ODMs to introduce computer products which offer a more intuitive and interactive experience. N-trig’s digitizers are easily integratable, support any type of LCD, and keep devices slim and light. N-trig’s technology can be implemented in a broad range of products from small notebooks to large format LCDs and can support a variety of applications including mobile, notebooks, convertible and all-in-one computing, gaming, entertainment, multimedia and more. Founded in 1999, N‑trig is headquartered in Kfar Saba, Israel with offices in Austin, TX and Taipei, Taiwan. For more information please visit www.n-trig.com.

Thanks for the tip, JkkMobile

5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. Andreas

    01/12/2009 at 12:02 pm

    Hurra! I think that’ll mean that Dell XT users will finally have a perfect working digitizer. I mean – the hardware is great, but there are too many issues with the driver…

  2. aswfreak12

    01/12/2009 at 12:24 pm

    Don’t do it microsoft! Wacom all the way!

  3. Chad Essley

    01/12/2009 at 5:43 pm

    Wow. I hope this isn’t a HUGE mistake!

    However, I will say, if Ntrig is able to take that development money and oh.. say make their multitouch capacitive dual magnetic pen digitizer screens compatible with Photoshop / Painter / Flash.. (i.e. exactly as compatible as Wacom has been throughout the years)

    I’ll be the first customer to line up at the Ntrig/capactive touch/pressure sensitive pen trough!

    Excelsior!

  4. rocke86

    01/13/2009 at 4:13 am

    HP’s touchsmart tablet just got more appealing. I may just pick one up when a new coupon shows up.

  5. Tanya Zafino

    01/23/2009 at 1:27 am

    The ‘cat’ grunted while eyeing Wally with apparent misgivings, then went back to rooting around in the dirt. Wally fished a lint-covered Ball O’Ants out of his pocket and tossed it in George’s pen. The pig cat was delighted to have something new in the way of food, and he snapped it up. Immediately afterward, he looked at us balefully, his eyes conveying that there were fates worse than barbecue and that if he ever got out of his pen, we could look forward to serious payback.

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