Modumetal Closes Funding Led by Catamount

Seattle-based Modumetal, an advanced materials and nanotech startup, said today it has closed a second round of venture funding, led by new investor Catamount Ventures, based in San Francisco. The exact amount was undisclosed, but is “several million” dollars, according to Modumetal CEO and co-founder Christina Lomasney. As part of the deal, Mark Silverman of Catamount is joining Modumetal’s board of directors. Modumetal was founded in late 2006 and has developed a new kind of metal that is stronger and lighter than steel; its ultimate goal is to reinvent the metals industry, with initial applications in construction, transportation, and defense. Last year, Modumetal raised more than $1.5 million from investors including Alliance of Angels, Second Avenue Partners, and WRF Capital. Lomasney says the company is now entering “a critical stage of sales growth and production scale-up.”

Author: Gregory T. Huang

Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003. Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.