The influx of capital has enabled LiquiGlide to move into a new 11,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art laboratory and office space in Cambridge, which will help the company continue to attract top scientists. 

 

“We see unlimited potential for our slippery coatings and feel a sense of urgency to bring them to the industries where they can make a real impact,” says LiquiGlide co-inventor and CEO Dave Smith. “The support from Roadmap Capital will help us build our customer base across industries and attract innovative scientists.”

 

“Watching LiquiGlide’s technology emerge from the lab and pique the interest of executives at leading CPG companies and prestigious venture capitalists is a great vote of confidence in the market potential for our technology and the capabilities of our leadership team,” says MIT professor and LiquiGlide co-inventor Kripa Varanasi.

 

LiquiGlide’s patented technology platform for permanently wet, slippery surface coatings was developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) by Varanasi and Smith, who also co-founded LiquiGlide Inc. LiquiGlide’s coatings are custom-made for each application by combining a porous solid with a liquid that gets trapped within it via strong capillary forces. LiquiGlide’s coatings can literally be made from edible ingredients, making them completely safe for foods, health and beauty products and other consumer goods. The coatings are commercially viable for a multitude of industries, from consumer packaged goods to oil & gas, medical, life sciences, agrochemical and aerospace.

 

LiquiGlide’s momentum began in 2012 after winning the Audience Choice Award at the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition and first prize at the Mass Challenge, and after its ketchup bottle video went viral. Thousands of potential customers inquired about the technology, including the largest consumer packaged goods companies in the world, and LiquiGlide Inc. was founded to commercialize MIT’s patents for liquid-impregnated surfaces. LiquiGlide now has more than 30 paying clients across multiple industries and has more than 20 employees.

 

“We see the inherent value that LiquiGlide’s technology can bring to the world – from saving consumers money to cutting manufacturing costs and even saving lives – and we confidently stand behind the company, which we truly believe is changing the way liquids move,” says Stephen Ireland, principal at Roadmap Capital.

 

Hugh Cleland, Roadmap’s CEO and portfolio manager, adds: “We are not just capital investors, but strategic partners and advisors. We are looking forward to working closely with LiquiGlide's management team to help them grow their business and rapidly bring their technology to market.”