Solar cell company Miasole aims for IPO

Miasole, a San Jose start-up which produces thin-film solar cells without silicon, will try to do an IPO within 12 to 18 months, said CEO David Pearce, according to CNET.

The company wants to be profitable by the end of the year. We wrote earlier about Miasole and its venture backing from big-name firm, Kleiner Perkins.

By the fourth quarter, Miasole expects to have factory capacity running that could supply 50 megawatts worth of solar panels a year. That’s significant, but less than the 430 megawatts a year of solar cells that competitor Nanosolar wants to produce in its own factory it is building. There’s clearly a rivalry building here. Miasole rejected Silicon Valley venture firm Mohr Davidow as a venture investor, and Mohr Davidow backed Nanosolar.