Cooling Tech Innovator Secures $68 Million in Funding from Goldman Sachs

AsiaOne Goes Green: Meet EarthOne

AsiaOne has opened a brand‑new section called EarthOne, dedicated to all things eco‑friendly. The idea is simple—love the planet, trust science, and share stories that make you think, feel, and maybe even grin.

Why the Cool Isn’t Always Cool

For ages, the chemical cocktails that keep our fridges, freezers, and air‑conditioners humming have been a menace. They’ve sap‑loaded the ozone layer and left a spillage of toxins in our waterways. But tech’s catching up, and the future of “cool” is looking a lot friendlier.

Cool Chips That Actually Chill

Phononic, a spunky startup out of Durham, North Carolina, is turning the tables with a nifty material called bismuth telluride. When you run electricity through their so‑called cooling chips, something pretty cool happens: one side drops a temperature while the other heats.

Power‑to‑Cool: The electrical current pulls heat away.
Heat‑to‑Warm: The other side gets a nice warm boost.

Just last week (July 21), the team announced they’ve snagged a whopping $50 million (or S$68 million) from Goldman Sachs Asset Management to keep their plans moving forward.

Thoughts from the Front Line

“When the chip is in motion, the current carries heat along, leaving one side chilled while the other warms,” says Tony Atti, Phononic’s co‑founder and CEO. It’s science without a side‑effect for the environment.

Stay tuned—EarthOne’s pages will keep you up to date on more green breakthroughs and quirky science stories that bring a little sunshine to our eco‑journey.

Cooler Chips: Tiny to Giant, Exactly Where You Need Them

Picture this: a little chip the size of a fingernail fragment or a full‑fist‑sized gizmo, both used to keep things chill. Atti, the mastermind behind this tech, explains that size happily scales with how much coolant you need.

These nifty chips aren’t just a lab curiosity. They’ve been tucked into compact freezers for vaccine transport—keeping those doses pristine all the way to hospitals—and even into convenience‑store ice‑cream machines (yes, Circle K has its own flavor of chill).

Fast‑Growing Use: Keeping Sensors and Signals Cool

Lidars in autonomous cars – endless laser shots can overheat; the chips step in to keep the heat at bay.
5G optical transceivers – high‑speed data demands a cool buddy.

Atti’s Verdict on the Old‑School Coolants

“Those classic refrigerants used in vapor‑compression systems? They’re a double‑edged sword,” says Atti.

Toxicity – they’re no sponge‑friendly.
Global warming impact – a real concern; not the best Earth‑friend.
Even after some green‑ish fixes, toxicity and flammability still haunt them.

The Rash of the Future

Atti’s mission? Move to a new generation of coolers that stay safe, green, and flint‑free. With these little chips, we’ve got a future that’s both cooler and kinder to the planet.

Nice News About Bismuth Telluride!

So, here’s the scoop: the raw powder of bismuth telluride can be a bit of a hazard. But paint it as a chip, and it turns into a perfectly harmless hero. The semiconductor wafer it makes is completely safe for both the environment and your five‑year‑old’s science project.

Why the transformation works:

Processing magic: Turning powder into a wafer removes the nastiest bits and locks the material in a stable structure.
Standards‑friendly: The finished chip meets all current safety regulations for electronic components.
Recyclability: Even after it does its job, the chip can be recycled or disposed of without harming the planet.

Bottom line—when it’s part of a neat little chip, you can ditch the concerns and keep the technology rolling forward.

Phononic’s Manufacturing Magic: From Durham to the World

Ever wonder where those nifty cooling chips that keep your ice cream or vaccine powerless come from? Phononic’s own factory in the charming town of Durham is the birthplace. Inside those cool metal walls, engineers and caffeine‑powered techies churn out the chips that make our chill dreams a reality.

Scale‑Up Strategy: A Thai Twist

When the demand becomes a storm rather than a drizzle, Phononic turns to Fabrinet—a Thailand‑based factory with the production muscle to handle the influx. Think of it as a two‑legged dance: Durham brings the design, Thailand brings the quantity.

China‑Crafted Freezers: The Global Twins

But it’s not just cool chips that travel; the entire freezers—those heavyweight warriors that hold vaccine and ice‑cream goods—are built in China by contract manufacturers. They then wear the logos of Phononic’s customers, or sometimes share the spotlight with a co‑brand, because what’s better than a joint venture? Nothing… well, unless you’re a fan of double branding.

Cool Chip Origins: Durham, USA
Mass Production Partners: Fabrinet, Thailand
Freezer Production Hub: China (contract manufacturing)
Branding: Customer logos or co‑branded specials

So next time you pop a frozen treat into your fridge or check that vaccine vial is still as cool as a cucumber, remember the global journey that got it there—thanks to Durham’s ingenuity, Thailand’s manufacturing prowess, and China’s assembly hustle.

Phononic is Turning Up the Heat—Literally!

Hold onto your hats, tech enthusiasts! Phononic just sealed a deal that’s turning their cooling dreams into a sizzling reality. While the exact valuation is cloaked in mystery—“north of half a billion dollars” is all we’re told—the funds are set to power their high‑volume manufacturing and broaden both the market and the product range.

What the Cash Will Do

Build out a high‑volume fab: Scaling from lab prototypes to full‑blown production lines.
Expand into fresh markets: From autos to aerospace and beyond.
Grow the product slate: More robust, smarter cooling solutions for every industry.
Showcase star investors: Backed by Temasek Holdings and Oak Investment Partners, with a buzz of serious venture capital.

Why we’re excited

With a funding round that’s hotter than a summer sidewalk, Phononic is gearing up to change the way the world cools down. Imagine cars that stay chill, factories with no overheated corners, and maybe even a cooler future for us all. They’re not just selling a product—they’re selling a breath of relaxed air in a climate‑chasing world.

Cool as a Gnome (and a bit less cliché)

Thanks to this injection of capital, Phononic’s journey from a promising startup to a powerhouse provider of sonic‑powered temperature control is accelerating at a pace that’ll leave competitors sweating (or should we say, cooling?). Their next chapter is looking bright, and we’re all tuned in for the rest of the wave!

Cooling Tech Innovator Secures $68 Million in Funding from Goldman Sachs