Pittsburgh-based nanoGriptech, a commercial manufacturer of gecko-inspired micro-structured dry adhesives and surfaces, has received $6 million in capital funding, which it plans to use to scale its manufacturing operations and strengthen its commercialization activities.
The financing was provided by overseas and domestic sources, including Koç Holding, Turkey’s largest industrial conglomerate; Inventram, a high-tech investment company in Istanbul, Turkey, that is a joint of Koç Group and Mitsui & Co. Europe PLC; Industrial Technology Investment Corp., the venture capital arm of the Industrial Technology Research Institute, a Hsinchu, Taiwan-based R&D consortium; Innovation Works; Idea Foundry; Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh; and Grouse Ridge Capital.
nanoGriptech’s products can be used for wearable consumer products, semiconductor and glass handling, and automotive upholstery fastening. Earlier this year, the company introduced its first consumer product, anti-slip micro-structured nose pads for eyewear.
“We are grateful to so many organizations that believe in the value of revolutionizing bio-inspired adhesive technology,” nanoGriptech CEO Nicholas Kuhn stated. “The support we have receive enables us to expand our consumer product offerings and also transition from batch and sheet manufacturing to roll-to-roll high throughput system.”
nanoGriptech was incorporated in 2012 by Metin Sitti, while he was a professor in Carnegie Mellon University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and in the schools’ Robotics institute.
Prior to his funding, the company receive grants from the National Science Foundation, NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense, along with support from the PA NanoMaterials Commercialization Center and several private investors.
