Awesomeray, a South Korean advanced materials company developing carbon nanotube (CNT)-based technology, has secured KRW 7.5 billion in a Series B bridge round. The round drew participation from S&S Investment, Wonik Investment Partners, Hanwha Investment & Securities, Re Investment, L&S Venture Capital, K-Net Investment Partners, Union Investment Partners, and Ascendo Ventures. As a bridge round, the funding is designed to reinforce the company’s transition from its previous funding stage toward commercialization and expanded production, following Awesomeray’s earlier KRW 17 billion Series B round in 2022.
Awesomeray, a Korean company incubated by the Jeju Center for Creative Economy & Innovation, develops CNT-based membrane technology, with its core focus on commercializing this material as a pellicle for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) semiconductor manufacturing. In EUV lithography, extreme ultraviolet light is used to etch ultra-fine circuit patterns onto semiconductor wafers; a pellicle is an extremely thin protective film placed over the photomask — the template for those circuits — to prevent dust and particles from causing chip defects.
As chipmaking processes advance to increasingly fine geometries, pellicles must transmit as much light as possible while withstanding higher heat. Awesomeray is developing next-generation pellicle membranes using CNT material, valued for its light weight and high heat resistance, and has reportedly already succeeded in producing a 110mm CNT pellicle membrane for High-NA EUV processes used in sub-2-nanometer leading-edge chipmaking.
Beyond semiconductors, the company is leveraging the ultra-lightweight, high-heat-resistant properties of its CNT fiber and membrane technology to expand into the aerospace and defense sectors — a strategic direction reflected in the defense-sector investors that joined this round. Awesomeray relocated its headquarters from the Seoul metropolitan area to Jeju, signing an investment agreement with Jeju Special Self-Governing Province in March and moving into Route330, an innovation growth center at the Jeju Advanced Science and Technology Complex. At the time, the company committed to investing KRW 6 billion in Jeju and hiring 10 new employees.
The company is also carrying out a KRW 3.6 billion government-backed R&D project on pellicle technology through Korea’s Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and has been selected for the “Unicorn Bridge” program, a newly launched initiative supporting promising deep-tech companies, which provides KRW 600 million in global market development funding in its first year along with up to KRW 20 billion in special guarantees over two years based on performance. Awesomeray has additionally been designated a listing-support company by Jeju province and is preparing for a technology-track IPO targeted for 2028.
Awesomeray said it will use the new capital to move from an R&D-centered phase into actual customer supply and mass production.
