Materials Zone, the AI cloud-based materials discovery platform disrupting the way materials-based products are developed and manufactured, announced today that it raised $6 million in Series A funding led by Insight Partners, with participation from OurCrowd.
Image Credit: Materials Zone
"In order to develop new technologies and physical products, companies must first understand the materials that comprise those products, as well as those materials' properties. Understanding the science of materials has therefore become a driving force behind innovation. However, the data behind materials R&D and production has traditionally been poorly managed, unstructured, and underutilized, often leading to redundant experiments, limited capacity to build on past experience, and an inability to effectively collaborate, which inevitably wastes countless dollars and man-hours," says Dr. Assaf Anderson, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Materials Zone.
"The process of inventing, improving, and building new products requires first understanding the materials' fundamental properties and the way they are processed; only then can they be systematically changed to reach the desired effect. Today, for example, to develop a photovoltaic transparent window or a non-flammable, high energy density solid-state battery, tens of thousands of experiments would be necessary to find the core materials' optimal parameters and to understand how they will orchestrate as a complete device. This process is long, costly and rarely successful. Materials Zone's platform makes this process faster and cheaper by providing data standardization, process and workflow management tools, which enable the user to apply and use analytical and AI/ML tools to better understand their data and receive real-time guidance, thus achieving better results."
"We are thrilled to partner with Materials Zone in its effort to provide materials scientists with tools that allow them to improve their product development and manufacturing processes," says Daniel Aronovitz, Vice President at Insight Partners. "Materials Zone's ability to provide solutions to multiple real-world problems and challenges in blue ocean fields such as materials informatics and industry 4.0, especially when combined with the quality of its team and its early success, affirmed our excitement to work with Assaf and his team."
Materials Zone has created an online materials discovery platform that funnels R&D and manufacturing data into an interoperable and structured database, enabling users to achieve meaningful AI/ML insights, reduce R&D research times, and efficiently collaborate with others. The platform is domain-agnostic and can serve customers from different verticals, such as Energy Storage, Renewables, and Nano-Materials, supporting both simple and complex materials architectures. The company already serves paying customers, including a Fortune 100 company.
"Much of innovation's future depends on breakthroughs in material science," says OurCrowd CEO, Jon Medved. "Bringing AI to help solve this challenge is essential, and Materials Zone is a pioneer in this exciting field. OurCrowd is proud to be backing this wonderful team building this game changing technology platform."
"As a materials scientist, I have experienced R&D challenges first-hand, thereby gaining an understanding of how R&D can be improved," continues Dr. Anderson. "We developed our platform with our years of experience in mind, leveraging innovative AI/ML technologies to create a unique solution for these problems. I am excited to welcome both Insight Partners and OurCrowd to our family; with their guidance and support, I'm confident we will be able to take Materials Zone to the next level. This investment is a boost of confidence to the company and, most importantly, to our incredible team. I would like to thank my team for their daily hard work, dedication, and professionalism."
"The closing of this investment round is a great milestone for the company and for the team," says Mark Weissman, a seasoned investor and director at Tidhar Group Ltd., who serves as the company's chairman of the board. "Materials Zone is now on a clear path to success and uniquely positioned to serve customers hungry for a quality materials discovery solution. I'm confident Materials Zone will grow, expand, and accomplish its goals."
Materials Zone plans to use the investment funds to hire additional team members, continue improving its product offering and pursue customers from additional verticals, such as Green Construction, Perovskites, Automotive and Semiconductors.
About Materials Zone
Materials Zone is an innovative materials informatics company which developed a unique AI cloud-based materials discovery platform designed to make the process of development and manufacturing of any physical product faster and cheaper. The company has spun-out of Bar Ilan University in late 2017, leveraging on years of experience and knowhow to develop its agnostic platform that can serve customers from different segments, industries, and verticals. Materials Zone has a proven track record, already catering the needs of multiple customers and enabling them to improve their R&D and manufacturing processes. The company's main offices are in Tel Aviv. For more information, please visit our website www.materials.zone.
About Insight Partners
Insight Partners is a leading global venture capital and private equity firm investing in high-growth technology and software ScaleUp companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. Founded in 1995, Insight Partners has invested in more than 400 companies worldwide and has raised through a series of funds more than $30 billion in capital commitments. Insight's mission is to find, fund, and work successfully with visionary executives, providing them with practical, hands-on software expertise to foster long-term success. Across its people and its portfolio, Insight encourages a culture around a belief that ScaleUp companies and growth create opportunity for all. For more information on Insight and all its investments, visit insightpartners.com or follow us on Twitter @insightpartners.
About OurCrowd
OurCrowd is a global venture investment platform that empowers institutions and individuals to invest and engage in emerging companies. With $1.7 billion of committed funding, and investments in more than 255+ portfolio companies and 27 venture funds, OurCrowd offers access to its membership of 90,000 individual accredited and institutional investors, family offices, and venture capital partners from over 195 countries to invest alongside, at the same terms. Rated by PitchBook as the most active venture investor in Israel, OurCrowd portfolio companies have been acquired by some of the most prestigious brands in the world, including Microsoft, Uber, Canon, Oracle, Nike, and Intel. To register visit www.ourcrowd.com.