Thanks for your confidence mate, but I know no more than you...

Thanks for your confidence mate, but I know no more than you do.

For what it's worth, here is my take on it.

Firstly, when you sniff out an available grant, you will always present a case that will dovetail into the grant's parameters.
So the initial wording will contain all the fluff to facilitate this.

But careful reading makes it clear that the grant is one thing and not at all linked to the collaborations.
Of note is that neither Akela Laser or Objective 3D is putting any skin into this.

Developing a hybrid capability for a BLG-300 is a great positive move, but will it take the existing kit offline and for how long?
No mention of a timeline. Worry, worry.
What worried me more though, was a hint that they are still, after all this time, seeking the efficiency and uniformity required for commercial larger wafers.

The Akela Laser collaboration is a no brainer when you are trying to enter the laser market, but how involved are they?
However, they will know exactly what is required to design the equipment to be optimal for laser chips.
More than that, this may present an opportunity for BLG to enter the laser market further up the supply chain.
I wish BLG would tell us how they got them interested enough to get them involved

The 3D printing link news is a non event, as it's pretty standard' industry practice for the prototyping of new designs.

All in all, for me, the announcement is good news but tempered by the outcomes of all the past collaborations