Deep Tech | Asia | Investment Bankers

about us

Pantek is a boutique investment banking firm focused on the hard tech sectors with deep networks in the North American, European and Asian markets. Strong expertise in advanced materials, advanced manufacturing, alternative energy infrastructure and advanced vision systems coupled with long backgrounds as operators and financiers in the relevant Asian technology hubs. Our mission is to provide our clients with unique insight and access to strategic investment, M&A and business development channels globally coupled with seasoned execution capabilities. Founded in 2007, Pantek has advised over a 200+ clients with regards to their global capital raising, strategic business development and M&A initiatives.

Services

Private Placement Advisory

Pantek provides its clients with international private capital fundraising advisory with specific emphasis on sourcing strategic investors based in the Asia region. Pantek possesses a unique network of institutional, corporate/strategic and high-net worth investors who are active industry operators and participants in technology, media, healthcare and energy and experienced in cross-border transactions – a network built over the past 15 years operating in the region.

Global M&A Advisory

Pantek provides its clients with a full array of merger & acquisitions advisory services with specific emphasis on sourcing international strategic buyer targets.

Global Market Entry, Business Development, IP Licensing Advisory

Pantek provides its clients with strategic and tactical business development advisory related to international-targeted market entry and strategic partner sourcing. Through its established global networks in the hard tech manufacturing, supply chain and distribution ecosystems in the US, Asia, and Europe, Pantek provides its clients with the ability to quickly identify and qualify strategic customers, co-development partners, suppliers and distribution partners and has the hands-on capability to manage such activities on behalf of its clients full lifecycle to ensure successful short- and long-term outcomes.

Securities transactions conducted through Pantek Securities LLC, a FINRA registered broker-dealer.

Industries

Pantek’s principals operate in specific market verticals where they have strong operating backgrounds and established networks in the APAC region including the following sectors of focus:

Advanced Materials

Battery materials
Semiconductor materials
Advanced adhesives
Rare-earth materials
Next-gen optical & display materials

Advanced Manufacturing

3D additive manufacturing
Advanced material processing capital equipment
Semiconductor manufacturing
Battery manufacturing

Alternative Energy Infrastructure

Grid integration platforms (V2G, BTM, microgrid)
Grid-scale storage platforms
Alternative fuel platforms
Mobile energy platforms

Advanced Vision Systems

2D & 3D computer vision systems
Augmented reality platforms
Industrial lasers
IoT Sensors

Team

The Pantek team and its Advisory Board is comprised of professionals with backgrounds in Wall St. and Asia investment banking, international venture capital and private equity, Asia-focused management consulting, hedge fund management, and line operating roles within the technology, healthcare, media and digital energy sectors with specific focus on the Asia markets. Pantek’s management and deal support teams are all multi-lingual and possess significant cross-cultural business experience in the US, Europe and the APAC regions.

Jack founded Pantek in 2007 and has 20 years experience in corporate finance in the deep tech and hard tech sectors and leads the firm’s technology practice. Prior to founding Pantek, Jack was Vice President of Marketing with Symwave, a fabless analog/mixed-signal semiconductor company providing integrated circuit solutions to the consumer and digital media markets with operations in China, Taiwan, and the US.

Galen joined Pantek in 2013 and provides deal support to Pantek’s US and European clients and is based in Pantek’s San Diego offices. Galen has been involved with China since 2007 when he moved to Shanghai without speaking a word of Chinese nor knowing anyone in the country.

Murakawa advises Pantek’s clients on their activities in the Japanese market. Murakawa is based in Yokohama, Japan, and has over 30 years of experience both working for Japanese hardware companies and assisting foreign hardware companies enter the Japan market. Previously, Murakawa was with Randido, a Japanese consulting firm which helps to connect overseas companies to customers in Japan.

Ron Ryder advises Pantek Partners’ clients in the interactive entertainment sectors with focus on AR, VR, gaming and related 3D asset creation and computer vision technologies.

Prior to joining Pantek in early 2020, Ron served as the Chief Executive Officer of Image Metrics, a leading augmented reality company at the forefront of real time human-detection and analysis research.

Brian Wong advises Pantek clients in areas of materials, semiconductors, and hardware. He has 37 years’ experience in the technology sector with focus on semiconductors, energy, and optical communication. He has been CEO of four companies; Independent Board Director of multiple technology companies including Kotura (acquired by Mellanox), Non-Profit Organizations, and Engineering School Advisory Boards.

Sterling advises Pantek’s clients on their activities in Greater Southeast Asian and Chinese markets. Sterling is currently based in Thailand and previously lived and worked in mainland China for over 15 years. Sterling is a veteran of the Chinese capital markets, having advised on and/or acted as a principal in several pioneering cross-border US-Chinese transactions across various sectors.

Gary advises the firm’s clients in the optical and computer vision related sectors. He has 30 years of experience working in the optical industry having worked and lived in the UK, Switzerland, and Japan. Gary has a proven track record of success in growing companies from start up to $250M in revenue, driving business growth and value, including expertise financing in private markets, both equity and debt.

Veronica provides deal support to Pantek’s US and European clients and is based in Pantek’s San Juan office. She has previous experience in cross-border sales & marketing. Veronica holds a bachelor’s degree in Natural Sciences from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico.

Clients

Client: Setex Technologies, Inc.

Situation: Fundraising advisory for Series B financing

Transaction Value: undisclosed

Pantek role: Sell-Side Fundraising Advisor to Setex Technologies

Pantek brokered a 1st closing in the Series B round for its client, Setex Technologies, and a large multi-national strategic investor active in the global chemicals and advanced materials industries. In addition to investing in the current financing round as a lead investor, the investor has also committed to assisting Setex via new product joint development programs, co-manufacturing and distribution of finished products to the industrial and consumer markets.

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Client: Ecolution Power Company

Situation: Fundraising Advisory, Strategic Business Development, SPV Formation Advisory

Transaction Value: undisclosed

Pantek role: Sell-Side & Business Development Advisor to Ecolution Power Company

Pantek brokered a strategic partnership between its client, Ecolution Power Company, and Levo Mobility LLC, whereby the parties have agreed to form and finance a joint venture for deploying a rail-to-grid / vehicle-to-grid depot in St. Paul, MN. Phase 1 of the depot construction and deployment calls for $30M in financing to acquire electric fleet vehicles which will be deployed to local customers under a transportation-as-a-service business model.

Link to Press Release here.

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Client: Nuvve Corp

Situation: Pre-IPO / Pre-SPAC Bridge Financing

Transaction Value: undisclosed

Pantek role: Sell-Side Advisor to Nuvve Corp

Pantek advised on a pre-SPAC convertible note offering, sourcing multiple strategic investors, hedge funds and family offices active in the clean technology and renewable infrastructure sectors in North America and Asia. The convertible note presaged an eventual merger between Nuvve Corp and a SPAC vehicle which successfully listed on the Nasdaq and now trades under the ticker symbol ‘NVVE’. Pantek continues to advise Nuvve and several of the investors on asset-level infrastructure projects which integrate Nuvve’s core vehicle-to-grid technology.

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Client: Nuvve Corp

Situation: Strategic Partnership Consulting Advisory for the China Mainland & Hong Kong Markets

Pantek role: Strategic business development advisor to Nuvve Corp

Pantek advised Nuvve on sourcing, qualifying and structuring strategic partnerships with large Asia-based conglomerates which resulted in a strategic partnership with State Grid, the electrical grid operator of Mainland China, with the purpose to evaluate, pilot and eventually roll-out Nuvve’s vehicle-to-grid technology across State Grid’s networks.

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Client: IQZone

Situation: Strategic Partnership & Market Entry Consulting Advisory for the Asia Markets

Pantek role: Strategic business development advisor to IQZone

Pantek advised IQZone on sourcing, qualifying and structuring strategic partnerships within the casual gaming, social media and other interactive entertainment platform markets in China, Japan and Korea assisting in assessing these markets for potential IP licensing and product distribution opportunities for its mobile ad mediation platform.

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Client: SPEQS, Ltd.

Situation: Strategic Partnership & Market Entry Consulting Advisory for the Asia Markets

Pantek role: Strategic business development advisor to SPEQS Ltd.

SPEQS licensed virtual try-on technology for the eyewear market in Australia and certain markets in Asia from another Pantek client, Image Metrics, Inc. Pantek advised SPEQS on sourcing, qualifying and structuring strategic partnerships within the optical e-commerce, optical brick-and-mortar retail and medical / optical clinic distribution markets in China, assisting in assessing these markets for potential joint venture and product distribution opportunities for its mobile optical virtual try-on platform.

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Client: Image Metrics, Inc.

Situation: M&A and IP Licensing Advisory

Transaction Value: $30M

Pantek role: M&A and IP licensing advisor to Image Metrics, Inc.
Pantek advised Image Metrics on sourcing, qualifying and structuring strategic IP licensing and M&A opportunities within augmented reality, virtual reality, gaming, social media and other interactive entertainment platform markets in China, Japan and Korea assisting in assessing these markets for potential IP licensing and product distribution opportunities for its mobile 3D real-time AR platform. This effort began as an M&A assignment and resulted in an IP license transaction to the #1 search engine and AI platform company in China, Baidu, under very favorable terms to Image Metrics and Image Metrics’ shareholders. Pantek advised on every facet of the negotiation of the transaction which resulted in a total license value of $30M issued under a non-exclusive basis and with a majority of payment structure up-front.

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Client: Big Stage Entertainment, Inc.

Situation: M&A Advisory

Transaction Value: undisclosed

Pantek role: M&A advisor to Big Stage Entertainment, Inc.

Pantek advised Big Stage Entertainment on sourcing, qualifying and structuring strategic IP licensing and M&A opportunities within augmented reality, virtual reality, gaming, social media and other interactive entertainment platform markets assisting in assessing these markets for potential IP licensing and product distribution opportunities for its mobile ad mediation platform. The effort resulted in a sale to Image Metrics, Inc. under favorable terms to Big Stage’s shareholders.

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Client: miVIP Surgery Centers

Situation: Strategic Partnership & Market Entry Consulting Advisory for the Asia Markets

Pantek role: Strategic business development advisor to miVIP

Pantek advised miVIP on sourcing, qualifying and structuring strategic partnerships within the robotic surgical markets in China, Japan and Korea assisting in assessing these markets for potential JV opportunities and other local market entry pathways for miVIP.

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Clients listed are clients of Pantek Partners, LLC and/or Pantek Securities LLC. Securities are offered through Pantek Securities LLC; Consulting services are offered through Pantek Partners, LLC. Pantek Partners, LLC and Pantek Securities LLC are affiliated through common ownership and control.

Trading

Cacao Bahia is an operating unit of Pantek Partners LLC and is engaged in the trading of premium agriculture commodities. Cacao Bahia currently trades premium USDA-certified organic cocoa beans sourced from Brazil and sold in the global markets under the brand name Cacao Bahia TM . More info can be found here: www.cacaobahia.com.