Advanced Materials Manufacturing

What Advanced Materials Manufacturing does

Advanced Materials Manufacturing (AMM) is a privately held materials manufacturing and engineering services firm founded by Dr. Afsaneh Rabiei and headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. AMM is the sole manufacturer and supplier of Composite Metal Foam (CMF), a proprietary lightweight metallic material composed of hollow metal spheres embedded in a metal matrix, produced via casting or powder metallurgy at approximately 1,200°C. CMF is engineered to deliver steel-level strength at aluminum-like weight, with validated performance across ballistic, blast, fire, thermal, radiation, and vibration regimes — including demonstrated absorption of ~14,500 J of puncture energy at 1,547 fps, jet-fire endurance 7× longer than solid steel, and ~4× higher X-ray/neutron shielding than equal-weight aluminum. The 20+ year R&D base originated at North Carolina State University under Dr. Rabiei and was commercialized through AMM.

AMM's commercial offering spans CMF in multiple form factors (panels up to 4'x4', rods/tubes, sheets as thin as 0.04", infused functional-porosity variants, and CNC-machinable components), bundled with engineering, prototyping, and production-scale manufacturing services out of a ~7,000 sq ft Raleigh facility. The business model is engineering-led and quote-based, with revenue derived from custom material/component sales plus project-driven engineering, testing, and manufacturing services priced per application. Pricing is non-public and contract-led, typically on multi-year terms. GTM is direct-to-enterprise with no resellers, anchored by Dr. Rabiei's scientific reputation, defense trade show presence, and earned media in defense, aerospace, and technology outlets.

The customer base is concentrated in three primary verticals — defense (armor, blast, vehicle survivability), aerospace (cockpit doors, leading edges, thermal insulation, space hardware), and nuclear/radiation (fuel/waste transport, microreactor housings, medical shielding) — with secondary exposure to automotive (EV battery enclosures), civil infrastructure (ballistic/storm doors), transportation/logistics (HAZMAT containment), sporting goods, and tools/devices. Capitalization to date has been entirely grant-driven, including a $1.885M NSIC award from the U.S. Department of Defense, multiple DOE SBIR awards spanning microreactor and nickel-based CMF work, and OneNC state incentive funding, with no disclosed institutional equity investors.

Name

Advanced Materials Manufacturing

Legal name

Advanced Materials Manufacturing

Website

https://advancemnm.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Advanced Materials Manufacturing is the sole manufacturer of Composite Metal Foam (CMF), a lightweight metallic material delivering steel-level strength at aluminum-like weight, serving defense, aerospace, nuclear, and adjacent industrial customers through direct engineering-led sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Advanced Composite Metal Materials

NAICS

Other Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (3329)

SIC

Miscellaneous Fabricated Metal Products (3490)

akta.pro primary industry

Aerospace & Defense (Production AM Parts) (IMAAAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Materials R&D & Characterization (Powder/Resin Development, Testing) (IMAAAJAG), Energy & Power (Oil & Gas, Turbines, Nuclear, Renewables) (Production AM Parts) (IMAAAEAE), Process Industries (Chemicals, Food, Pharma Equipment Components) (Production AM Parts) (IMAAAEAL)

Keywords

• Composite metal foam
• Lightweight ballistic armor
• Advanced metallic materials
• Impact energy absorption
• Thermal protection materials

Headquarters

HQ city

Raleigh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. CMF Material and Component Sales: Sale of Composite Metal Foam materials and manufactured components including panels, rods, tubes, sheets, and machined parts. Revenue is project-dependent and volume-based, with maximum panel cross-section of 4' x 4' and large-part machining up to 5' x 5'.
2. Engineering, Prototyping & Manufacturing Services: Consulting and engineering services covering application-driven design, feasibility studies, prototype builds, property evaluation (mechanical, microstructural, thermal), and production-scale manufacturing support. Revenue is service/project-based.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Advanced Materials Manufacturing (AMM) designs, prototypes, and manufactures Composite Metal Foam (CMF), a lightweight metallic material composed of hollow metal spheres embedded in a metal matrix. AMM sells CMF in forms such as panels, rods/tubes, sheets, machinable components, and functional-porosity variants, and offers complementary engineering, manufacturing, and testing services to scale CMF from prototype to production for defense, aerospace, nuclear, automotive, and industrial customers.

Product overview

Advanced Materials Manufacturing (AMM) offers a single flagship technology platform: Composite Metal Foam (CMF). CMF is a lightweight metallic material available in multiple forms (panels, rods/tubes, sheets, machinable components, and infused variants) and sold as both raw material forms and application-specific products (ballistic armor, blast protection, impact/puncture protection, fire protection, and vibration damping). The company also provides complementary engineering, manufacturing, and testing services to support prototype-to-production scale-up.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Composite Metal Foam (CMF) Flagship platform material: lightweight metallic foam made of hollow metal spheres embedded in a metal matrix, produced via casting or powder metallurgy at ~1,200°C. Delivers steel-level strength at aluminum-like weight and provides impact, thermal, ballistic, radiation, and vibration protection. Sold to defense, aerospace, nuclear, automotive, civil infrastructure, transportation, sporting goods, and tooling customers.
• CMF Panels CMF panels available with a maximum cross-section of 4' x 4' in various thicknesses, used for structural and impact-energy absorption applications.
• CMF Rods and Tubes CMF rods and tubes in multiple diameters and lengths for industrial and structural applications.
• CMF Sheets Thin CMF sheets with thicknesses as low as 0.04 inches for thin-section applications.
• Functional Porosity CMF (Infused CMF) CMF variant with functional, open-cell-like porosity allowing infusion with epoxy or other fillers to meet specialized operational needs and design targets.
• Machinable CMF Components CNC-machined CMF components that support drilling, tapping, and fastening using conventional operations similar to standard parent metals.
• Lightweight Ballistic Armor Lightweight ballistic protection solution designed for mass reduction versus fully-solid sections; absorbs and dissipates impact energy while confining deformation for multi-hit performance. Configurable by threat level, weight target, and envelope.
• Blast Protecting Material Blast-capable CMF structure engineered to manage overpressure and impulse via sandwich panel designs, providing peak-load reduction and deflection control. Tunable to charge size, standoff distance, and allowable deflection.
• Lightweight Impact/Puncture Protecting Material Impact and puncture protection solution engineered to dissipate energy through controlled crushing and deformation, with high stiffness-to-weight and reduced transmitted load. Tunable to impact energy, contact area, and allowable deflection.
• Heat and Fire Protecting Metal Thermal barrier CMF solution that slows heat transfer versus fully-solid metal sections and maintains structural stability under high-heat exposure. Configurable for exposure time, heat flux, allowable backside temperature, and weight constraints.
• Lightweight Vibration Damping Material Built-in damping CMF solution that reduces vibration transmission and structure-borne noise while maintaining rigidity. Tunable to frequency range, mounting constraints, and allowable deflection.
• Engineering & Development Services Application-driven design, feasibility studies, prototyping and pilot builds, and property evaluation including mechanical, microstructural, and thermal testing for customers integrating CMF into demanding applications.
• Manufacturing & Production Services Production manufacturing support with large-part machining up to 5' x 5' and pressing/forming capabilities up to 47 inches wide to scale CMF components from prototype to production volumes.
• Testing, Cleaning & Finishing Services Sonic cleaning, vibration/shaker testing (4' x 4' table), sandblasting, grinding, polishing, and metallographic preparation and evaluation to support CMF qualification and customer programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3× lighter than traditional solid metal solutions
• +8 more outcomes

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• North Carolina State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 November 2025CMF technology originated from over 20 years of research at North Carolina State University's Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department under Dr. Afsaneh Rabiei. NC State developed the CMF material system and its manufacturing processes, with AMM commercializing the technology through an exclusive or preferential licensing arrangement. AMM's manufacturing and R&D operations maintain close alignment with NC State's ongoing materials research.
• U.S. Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate (AATD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAMM has collaborated with the U.S. Army's Aviation Applied Technology Directorate on the development and testing of CMF for armored vehicle applications. This collaboration has included ballistic testing of CMF against armor-piercing rounds and evaluation of weight reduction benefits (~65% weight reduction in discussed example) for military vehicles.
• North Carolina Military Business Center (NCMBC)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerNCMBC co-hosts the Defense Industrial Sustainment for Combat Systems (DISC) Summit alongside U.S. Senators Thom Tillis and Ted Budd. AMM participates in this summit to connect with defense stakeholders and discuss CMF integration opportunities.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Cymat Technologies: Canadian manufacturer of stabilized aluminum foam (Alusion, SmartMetal). Closest direct peer to AMM in metal foam materials for automotive, defense, and architectural applications.
• Havel Metal Foam: European metal foam manufacturer producing aluminum and steel foams for energy absorption, lightweighting, and crash protection. Directly comparable material platform and end-use focus.

Broad incumbents

• Materion Corporation: Advanced materials supplier of specialty alloys, composites, and engineered materials for aerospace, defense, and nuclear. Comparable customer verticals and high-performance material focus.
• Carpenter Technology: Specialty alloy producer serving aerospace, defense, and medical with high-performance metal materials. Broad incumbent competing for similar high-end lightweight/strength applications.
• Hexcel Corporation: Leading advanced composites manufacturer (carbon fiber, honeycomb) for aerospace and defense lightweighting. Competes for the same structural lightweighting budgets as CMF.
• Kaiser Aluminum: Specialty aluminum mill products for aerospace and high-strength applications. Competes as a lightweight structural material incumbent in the same defense/aerospace supply chain.

Regional players

• Alucoil: European manufacturer of aluminum composite panels and metal facade systems. Adjacent in lightweight metal composites and architectural/infrastructure protection end markets.

Emerging players

• Elementum 3D: Developer of advanced metal matrix composites and aluminum alloys for aerospace, automotive, and defense. Comparable emerging advanced materials innovator with similar target verticals.
• HRL Laboratories: R&D lab (Boeing/GM venture) that has published on advanced metallic microlattice and foam structures for aerospace and defense lightweighting. Comparable advanced materials R&D pedigree and customer base.
• Metamaterials Inc. Developer of advanced metamaterials for aerospace, defense, and automotive applications. Comparable deep-tech advanced materials company pursuing performance differentiation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/advanced-materials-manufacturing

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Advanced Materials Manufacturing