Applied Materials is in the middle of restructuring its solar strategy. It recently called it quits on its SunFab line of equipment for thin-film solar cell manufacturing, cutting 500 jobs in the process.
But now it’s sinking money into a new business : solar inspection and quality control. The company’s investment arm, Applied Ventures, joined a $3.8 million first round of funding for BT Imaging, a startup that does just that.