On this page we devote some brain cells to exploring the outer limits of nanotechnology and the world that it might help make possible. Educated and reasonable people can debate about the future and have honest disagreements. Accordingly, we'll pose more questions than answers here, but you'll find our view peeking through the cracks.

The NanoSys IPO

Get ready for the nano hype-o-meter to max out in the near future. Nanotech standard-bearer NanoSys is preparing for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the stock market and it's drawing a lot of attention. NanoSys is a major player in nanotech; well-funded from its beginning, it has aggressively collected patents and talent in an effort to set the stage for advances and eventually money making nanotechnology-based products. Their focus is on integrating nanoscale devices into real products. They are asking for about $16 per share, a level that should net them over $100M new cash and valuate the company at Google-like levels.

In our opinion their business approach is alarmingly dot-com-like, in the sense that they have constructed an attractive business plan to raise ever greater levels of capital. If it all works, their founders will get rich and their investors will profit handsomely. However, if like many dot coms it experiences delays in product development or discovers a smaller market than it anticipated at the end of the tunnel it could die a horrible death or at least painfully downsize into something more sustainable. The founders and VC's will still be rich, of course, but the investors might not be so happy.

NanoSys is the icebreaking flagship of the nanotech business world. It's a huge undertaking, carrying many people and dreams along with it. It has required and will continue to require much fuel to sustain it and keep it moving towards its target. You may believe in its ultimate destination, and you may nod appreciatively at the ship they have built. But you might consider that the route they have chosen has more than a few icebergs along the way.

Old Hype: Nanocomputers

Old Hype: Immortality, Transhumanism and Uploading