BASF Venture Capital leads a $3 million Series A financing in SLIPS Technologies Inc.
BASF Venture Capital has led a $3 million Series A financing with a $1.5 million investment in SLIPS Technologies Inc. based in Cambridge, Massachusetts . The Swiss entrepreneur and private investor Hansjörg Wyss has also participated in the financing.
SLIPS Technologies develops customized, highly-repellent slippery surfaces for customers in all industries including energy, packaging, consumer, automotive and environmental. The company’s ground-breaking technology platform was created by Prof. Joanna Aizenberg and her team at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the Harvard University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
“We are happy to partner with SLIPS Technologies to advance this highly promising technology, which is at the forefront of materials science research,” said Dirk Nachtigal, Managing Director of BASF Venture Capital. “The investment through BASF Venture Capital will facilitate the development and commercialization of many exciting applications.”
Alongside the investment, BASF has signed a joint development agreement with SLIPS Technologies to develop SLIPS-coated thermoplastics with primary focus on thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs). TPUs are used in a variety of applications such as sports and leisure footwear, industrial cables as well as specialty films. “By collaborating with SLIPS Technologies, we will develop and commercialize TPUs with new and exciting properties,” said Steve Fischer, Director of New Markets & Products, Performance Materials division at BASF.
“SLIPS delivers solutions for creating exceptionally repellent and robust self-cleaning surfaces on metals, plastics, optics, textiles and ceramics,” said Daniel Behr, President and CEO of SLIPS Technologies. “We are happy to engage in joint development efforts with BASF to progress smart materials for the next generation of surface technologies for real market needs.”
The company will use the proceeds from the financing to advance various commercial applications of its slippery surfaces through internal development as well as in partnerships with its customers in industry and government.
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