Battery startup receives seed funding boost
NEWBERRY, Ind. (Inside INdiana Business) – Newberry-based startup Ateios has received $1.25 million in Series Seed funding, led by venture capital firm Good Growth Capital in South Carolina. The battery startup says it has developed the world’s first customizable, thin-film battery.
Ateios says the seed round will enable it to meet customer demand and scale its technology.
“The same way Moore’s Law for microchips has changed the world, the next generation of computing will be enabled by an acceleration in energy storage,” said Dr. Rajan Kumar, founder and chief executive officer of Ateios. “Technology keeps moving towards smaller and thinner devices for everyday use. The only thing stopping it is the battery.”
Ateios says its team has been working with Good Growth Capital virtually for the last six months to establish the relationship. Other investors include San Diego-based Keshif Ventures, Indianapolis-based Elevate Ventures, and HG Ventures, also in Indianapolis, among others.
The company says its patent pending manufacturing technique for thin-film batteries makes its manufacturing process 10 times faster and one-fifth of the capital cost compared to current battery manufacturing.
“Advances in batteries are becoming the key enabler for many industries: energy, medicine, transportation, ubiquitous computing,” said Holly. “Because Ateios’ breakthrough is streamlining the manufacturing process, rather than creating whole new battery chemistry, they can adapt their platform quickly for a wide range of existing applications. Their technology especially shines in small, flexible electronics applications that have been waiting for an innovation like this.”
Dr. Kumar and fellow graduate student, Carlos Munoz, founded Ateios while “conducting pioneering research in stretchable batteries at the University of California San Diego Jacob School of Engineering.”
The funding round comes shortly after Ateios received Phase I SBIR funding from the National Science Foundation and graduated from The Heritage Group Accelerator powered by Colorado-based Techstars.
Ateios relocated to the Battery Innovation Center located near Bloomington earlier this year. The company says it is working with the state of Indiana to locate its next facility to deliver even larger volumes.