De Beers opens synthetics office in Silicon Valley

Santa Clara, Calif.--Element Six, the synthetic diamond arm of the De Beers Group, has opened a new venture capital office in California’s Silicon Valley and is looking to make more technology investments in the region.

Element Six said that new office for Element Six Ventures Group, which partners with companies that enable new markets and new applications using synthetic diamond or other supermaterials, is in Santa Clara, Calif. at a planned Element Six production site.

To date, Element Six Ventures Group has invested in seven portfolio companies operating within the clean-tech, semiconductor and electronics sectors.

The news release announcing the opening of the office does not mention gem-quality synthetic diamonds as either a past or future investment possibility for Element Six. Reports have surfaced in the past claiming that De Beers intends to enter into the business of selling gem-quality synthetics, reports that De Beers has staunchly denied.

Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley is home to a number of the world’s largest technology companies, including Apple Inc. and Google Inc., and is considered the nerve center of the country’s high-tech sector.

Element Six also has offices in Spring, Texas and New York.