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Field of Dreams
by: Jae Kim
June 8, 2005
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(New York City, NY) – Nanotechnology, for the time being, is a field of dreams. With each new conference, trade show, and technology advance, the press is always eager to reveal all the promises that lie in our future. But the reality is that much of nanotechnology today is still the realm of scientists doing diligent lab work
Granted, there are some nano products that have been commercialized. But these are far and few and up till now, these products have done little to meet the gargantuan expectations of nanotechnology. Attending the NanoBusiness Conference held in New York City this past May 22-25 did little to say otherwise.
With all the media outlets talking up nanotechnology, one might have expected to see a large exhibit hall full of company booths with ideas and technologies that are ready to change the world. But there was only a tepid hallway with about a dozen booths. Not exactly a windstorm, by any means.
If you have been following nanotechnology for the past 12 months, you will not have seen anything new or exciting at the conference. Right now, the nanotech industry is akin to an ice glacier, moving slowly and deliberately. But it will take time for it to move forward to the watershed moment, at which point, the glacier begins to shake the business world and everyone notices.
This is not to knock the conference itself. They did a fine job of bringing together some of the industry leaders. But rather, this is to accentuate the embryonic stage of nanotech commercialization. It is still very early in the game.
Here is a breakdown of the investment arena to get a better understanding of what is driving nanotechnology. It is still so early in the game (with so many unknowns and so much risk) that even venture capitalists, the gunslingers of the late 1990’s, are somewhat trepid when it comes to investing in nanotechnology start-ups.
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