ALD NanoSolutions forges ahead with $20m

ALD NanoSolutions, a US-based advanced materials spinout of University of Colorado (CU), Boulder, has merged with its peer Forge Nano, with the new entity raising $20m in funding from investors including carmaker Volkswagen (VW).
LG Technology Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of consumer electronics supplier LG, also contributed, as did mining cmopany Mitsui Kinzoku Trading and SBI Investment, a corporate venturing subsidiary of financial services provider SBI.
The merged company will operate under the Forge Nano name going forward.
Founded in 2001, ALD NanoSolutions produces and supplies materials using a technique called atomic layer deposition (ALD) to create thin films formed by chemically fabricating the surface area in sequential stages.
The approach is intended to lower the cost of fabricating materials with precise qualities, targeting applications such as energy storage, consumer electronics and 3D printing.
ALD NanoSolutions has not disclosed details of its earlier funding. Forge Nano’s latest round was a $18m series A in September 2019 that included LG Technology Ventures, VW and Mitsui Kinzoku-SBI Material Innovation Fund, a vehicle for Mitsui Kinzoku and SBI.
Wayne Simmons, chief executive of ALD NanoSolutions, said: “We are excited to merge our talent and resources to create a company with unmatched capabilities and technical know-how.
“Not only that, but we will continue our close collaboration with professors Alan Weimer and Steven George and their research groups at CU Boulder, ushering in a new era of disruptive technology together.”