MetaVC Partners recently announced the close of MetaVC Partners, which is a $62 million fund that will invest in early-stage and hard-tech metamaterials startup companies. The investors in the fund include Corning Inc., Gates Frontier, JSR Corporation along with other family wealth offices and institutional pension funds.
Metamaterials refer to a class of manufactured materials engineered to control and manipulate energy like radio waves, light, and sound. Composed of arrays of structures whose size and spacing can be finer than the wavelength of visible light, metamaterials have been designed to exhibit properties not found in naturally occurring materials. Plus Metamaterials are being deployed commercially to produce high-performance and energy-efficient products in computing, imaging, wireless communications, and sensors.
Among MetaVC Partners’ current investments:
1.) Uses the physics of metamaterials to produce tiny semiconductor scanning sensors for anti-collision systems and consumer electronics applications.
2.) Building a proprietary network of satellites and terrestrial systems to bring low-cost and ubiquitous connectivity to networks, data, and devices.
3.) Uses metamaterials to produce flat-optical lens technologies used in AR/VR headsets and other consumer electronics products.
4.) Building high-performance optical AI processors that will be over 100 times faster and more energy-efficient than today’s state-of-the-art AI computer processors.
KEY QUOTES:
“We’re delighted to help support innovation advancements in the exciting new area of metamaterials through our recent venture capital investment. Corning’s capabilities and optimized precision glass products complement MetaVC’s investment opportunities related to breakthrough products in consumer electronics, 5G communications, automotive, and clean energy.”
– Marty Curran, executive vice president and chief innovation officer at Corning Incorporated
“We are excited to continue to partner with founders building highly disruptive hard-tech product startups that are changing the pace of computing power, how we embed smart sensors in anti-collision systems, and how we communicate using satellites. We continue to be on the lookout to recruit the brightest founders to help form the next great companies and products.”
– Co-founders and managing partners Chris Alliegro and Conrad Burke
