Press Releases/
Redwood City, CA, USA  –  23 December 2020 – Citrine Informatics, the developer of the first artificial intelligence platform for materials and chemicals R&D, announced today a strategic investment from Universal Materials Incubator Ltd. (UMI), a ¥20B Investment Fund based in Japan focused on contributing new technologies and innovative business practices to the Japanese materials and chemical industries.

The goals of the partnership between Citrine and UMI are to incorporate AI into research and development at leading materials and chemicals companies in Japan and to further enable Citrine to support Japanese companies in their adoption of the Citrine Platform.

“UMI’s decision to invest in Citrine Informatics comes from our evaluation of their team, technology and the market impact of their software platform. UMI is excited to contribute to the digital transformation of the Japanese industry through this investment in the front-runner of this field,” said Mahoro Yoshida, Feng Xiaoliang and Ryosuke Sakamoto, UMI’s venture capitalists.

Greg Mulholland, CEO of Citrine Informatics, said “As a US-based company serving the global materials and chemicals industry, working with the right partners in Japan is critical for our success. Our partnership with UMI improves our ability to serve the Japanese market, and will unlock future opportunities for partnerships and expansion in the region.”

Citrine, founded in 2013, has over raised $48M (¥5B) to date, and looks to build upon success with global leaders like Showa Denko, AGC, Michelin, and LANXESS to further expand its business in the Japanese market. To learn more about UMI’s perspective on their investment in Citrine, visit https://www.umi.co.jp/topics/information/post-20201224/.

 

About UMI

UMI is a venture capital firm focusing on chemicals and material science. It was established in October 2015 based on the vision of “Strengthening Japan’s technological capabilities by fostering outstanding material and chemical companies and cultivating an industry structure that can compete in the global arena.” Currently operating the UMI 1 & 2 Limited Partnership, with 19.5 billion yen ($180M) in committed capital. For further information please visit www.umi.co.jp/en/.

About Citrine

Citrine Informatics is the award-winning materials informatics platform for data-driven materials and chemicals development. It won the 2017 World Materials Forum Start-up Challenge, the 2018 AI Breakthrough award as the “Best AI-based Solution for Manufacturing,” and 2020 Cleantech 100 honors. The Citrine Platform combines smart materials data infrastructure and AI, which accelerates development of cutting-edge materials, facilitates product portfolio optimization, and codifies research IP, enabling its reuse and preventing its loss. Citrine’s customers have included some of the largest and most respected names in the materials and chemicals industry in Asia, North America, and Europe including Panasonic, LANXESS, and Michelin.

Media Contact

Josh Tappan, Director of Marketing
jtappan@citrine.io