Palo Alto (CA) - Nanosys, a much-hyped company in the nano-technology industry, has decided to cancel its initial public offering, which was scheduled for this week.

The return of dotcom-like surges in stock prices was dented early Wednesday when Nanosys announced that it withdrew its planned IPO. The firm's intent to go public was announced last April and was heavily discussed by analysts as possible launch of new opportunities for investors to rake in huge profits.

Nanosys currently does not offer any products but holds more than 250 patents in its name. According to the company, its research could lead to higher density in computer memory and flexible computer screens. Nanotechnology is commonly referred to as technology in the less-than-100-nanometer space, with one nanometer representing on billionth of a meter or the roughly 75,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.

Just as many early dotcoms, Nanosys mainly works on venture capital and staggering losses which recently topped $20 million since 2001. The IPO was set to sell 6.25 million shares of common stock with an initial price range of $15 to $17. The IPO would have valued Nanosys at about $350 million to $370 million which is more than 100 times the firm's 2003 revenues of $3.1 million.