Oree Lights Up With $4M For Credit-Card-Size LEDs

What could you do with a credit-card-sized flat, highly-efficient light bulb? Israeli startup Oree recently raised funds that will help it figure out all the applications of its LED lighting product, like LCD displays, or office environments that need discrete flat lighting sources. The company says the thin, flat lights consume less energy and emit less heat than standard light bulbs.

Oree’s recent funding came in the form of $4 million in venture loans from Silicon Valley Bank and Kreos Capital, and the company touted the funding as “a vote of confidence,” in the turmoil in the global financial markets. The company is 2 years old and previously raised $7 million in a Series A round of equity financing from Genesis Partners and Gimv.

Oree has substantial competition as there are a lot of startups working to bring down the costs of LED lighting, including Bridgelux, Illumitex, and Lumenz. But the LED market is also one of the few places where startups have found acquisition exits, so if Oree’s technology is disruptive enough it could get snapped up by a big player. LED manufacturer Lighting Science Group (LSG) bought the assets of LED developer Lamina Lighting in July, Cree purchased LED Lighting Fixtures earlier this year, and Philips has already bought four LED companies: Lumileds, TIR Systems, Color Kinetics and Genlyte.