Northwestern spinout NuMat raises $12.4 million
One of the Chicago area's most intriguing startups, NuMat Technologies, has raised another $12.4 million after hitting at important milestone.
The Northwestern University spinout is commercializing technology that could lead to more efficient ways to store and sort chemicals. The company invented a way to make atomic-scale sponges, which can store gases or separate them more efficiently than current methods that usually involve compressing or dramatically cooling gases. These super-sponges can be made out of various materials, depending on what's being stored.
NuMat showed early promise, winning multiple business-plan competitions, including the Clean Energy Challenge six years ago. Last year, it hit a milestone bysigning a partnership with Versum Materials, a major supplier to the semiconductor industry. NuMat is building metal cylinders used to store specialty gases used in making computer chips.
NuMat, which is based at the Illinois Technology Park in Skokie, has grown to 20 full-time employees. CEO Benjamin Hernandez says he expects headcount to increase to about 30 over the next 18 months.
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