Seattle based electro-desalination membrane manufacturer, Membrion, has announced the completion of their Series B funding round, raising a round total of 12.5 million dollars. The second close of 5.5 million dollars is anchored by Samsung Venture Investment Corporation and Lam Capital.
They are joined by Indico Capital Partners, Harvard Business School New York Alumni Angel Group, New York Angels, and GiantLeap Capital.
Previously announced quarter one 2023 Series B investments of 7 million dollars were led by PureTerra Ventures and included GiantLeap Capital, Safar Partners and Freeflow Ventures. The round is now closed at 12.5 million. Membrion has raised a total of 23 million dollars since its inception.
Membrion manufactures ceramic desalination membranes that the company say can recover up to 98% of water in the harshest conditions. According to Membrion, their flexible, electro-ceramic desalination membranes should yield endless possibilities for water recovery, allowing manufacturers to recycle water at previously inaccessible pH ranges and with challenging trace chemicals. The company also states the membranes are low fouling, require less cleaning, are oxidizer resistant, have ultra-low pH stability, and are economical.
“I couldn’t be more excited about the investment syndicate that we’ve built for this round. Our technology is a game changer for creating circularity of valuable resources from challenging wastewater, including harsh metal-laden wastewater in the semiconductor industry,” said Greg Newbloom, founder and chief executive officer of Membrion. “Membrion has had many successful pilot projects and now has multiple commercial installations coming on-line that will save each customer hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. We’re thrilled to be one of the few sustainable wastewater treatment options that actually lowers facility operating costs – that’s been a big key to our success so far.”
One of the key investors, Lam Capital, is Lam Research’s venture group that invests in innovative companies addressing today’s most challenging, high impact problems facing the semiconductor manufacturing industry.
“Membrion is paying careful attention to creating sustainable solutions for water and resource circularity,” said Kevin Chen, head of Lam Capital. “This strategic investment reflects Lam Capital’s focus on investments in companies with the potential to have a disruptive force in technology and advance the semiconductor industry, and we believe Membrion may play an important role in ensuring that complex industrial wastewater is treated and reused sustainably while helping to meet ambitious ESG targets.”
Samsung Venture Investment Corporation, another lead investor, is Samsung’s corporate venture arm and has a track record of investing in breakthrough technologies across industries.
“We are excited about Membrion’s approach to creating a new wastewater treatment solution for challenging industrial applications,” said the Samsung Ventures Investment Team. “By selectively removing salts, metals and minerals from wastewater, they are opening up opportunities for water recycling and resource recovery in microelectronics and other industries.”
