In what is the largest investment secured by a newly formed University of Liverpool spin-out, AI ‘materials discovery’ venture Matter Machine Technologies raises £4m to accelerate its commercial development. Tony McDonough reports
A University of Liverpool spin-out venture that uses artificial intelligence to invent new, advanced materials has secured £4m in a new funding round.
Matter Machine Technologies (MMT) will use the cash injection to accelerate the commercial development of its “inorganic crystalline materials discovery platform”.
In layman’s terms, this means MMT is using AI to invent new, advanced materials much faster and cheaper than humans can on their own.
Instead of scientists spending years using trial-and-error in a lab to find the right chemical combinations, its AI technology quickly predicts and tests which new materials will work best.
This is the largest single investment by a newly formed University of Liverpool spin-out. The funding round was led by IP Group plc with investment from Northern Gritstone alongside the University of Liverpool Enterprise Fund.
It also included a syndicate of leading investors including Norrsken Evolve, LYVA Labs and the Northern Universities Venture Fund.
This spin-out combines world-leading expertise in materials chemistry, automated experimentation and machine learning to create a new approach to materials discovery.
As part of the company’s growth strategy, Dr Gordon Sanghera, co-founder and former chief executive of Oxford Nanopore Technologies, has joined MMT to lead its commercialisation strategy.
Dr Sanghera helped build Oxford Nanopore from inception through to its £3.4bn London Stock Exchange listing and brings extensive experience in scaling deep-technology businesses.
MMT founder, Professor Matt Rosseinsky, said: “The combination of advanced materials science and artificial intelligence creates a powerful opportunity to transform how new materials are discovered.
“Matter Machine has been established to unlock that potential, enabling faster innovation and delivering materials that can support advances across a wide range of industries.
MMT is headquartered at the University of Liverpool’s Materials Innovation Factory, a globally recognised centre for materials research and industrial collaboration.
The company also contributes to the AI Materials Hub for Innovation (AIM-HI) programme, which is helping position Liverpool city region and the UK as a global leader in AI-enabled materials research and innovation.
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Dr Sanghera added: “Materials innovation underpins progress across multiple sectors from energy to manufacturing and electronics.
“Matter Machine brings together exceptional scientific expertise, unique technology capabilities and a highly scalable commercial opportunity. I am excited to lead the company’s development and growth.”