LiloTree
LiloTree is a privately held advanced materials company that develops and manufactures patented surface finish chemistries, notably ENIG-Premium and Ni-less ENIG-Premium, for PCB and IC manufacturers globally, addressing reliability failures while reducing gold consumption.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersSeattle, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What LiloTree does
LiloTree is a privately held advanced materials company that develops and manufactures patented surface finish chemistries for printed circuit board (PCB) and integrated circuit (IC) manufacturers. Founded in 2016 by Dr. Kunal Shah, the company is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, with a regional office in Sanand, Gujarat, India. Its core products are ENIG-Premium and Ni-less ENIG-Premium, proprietary plating solutions that address long-standing reliability issues in conventional electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG) processes, specifically black pad corrosion and brittle solder joint failures, while reducing gold consumption by up to 40% and operating cyanide-free. Supporting chemistries include the Lilo-BL corrosion-inhibitor barrier layer, LILO-Pretreat multi-purpose pre-treatment solution, LILO-EAu cyanide-free rose-gold plating, NanoCleaner surface preparation, and Lilo ImmAu cyanide-free immersion gold. The company also offers customized plating services, failure analysis and root-cause investigation, and quality compliance testing covering RoHS, REACH, ASTM, and Mil-Std specifications.
LiloTree monetizes primarily through sale of consumable plating chemistries to PCB and IC manufacturers, augmented by plating services for customers that prefer to outsource surface finishing, and technical services for failure analysis and compliance testing. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is negotiated on a per-customer basis. Go-to-market combines direct sales with a 2022 channel partnership with Taiyo America covering North America and Europe, supported by event-driven demand generation at industry conferences including IPC APEX EXPO, SMTA International, IMPACT, ECWC, and IWLPC. The company has been recognized with multiple industry awards including IPC APEX 2020 Best Technical Paper and IMPACT 2022 Best Technology in PCB, and holds granted US patents on ENIG-Premium, Ni-less ENIG-Premium, and Lilo-BL. Customers span PCB manufacturers, IC and semiconductor packaging manufacturers, consumer electronics OEMs, medical device manufacturers, and aerospace and defense electronics suppliers.
The business is funded largely through non-dilutive grants including NSF SBIR Phase I (June 2016) and Phase II (May 2019), and a 2021 Comcast RISE Investment Fund grant; there is no disclosed institutional venture capital. Headcount is in the 11-50 range and revenue is not publicly disclosed. The company appears to operate as a focused, founder-led specialty chemistry supplier extending a single proprietary chemistry platform into adjacent chemistries, services, and geographies.
LiloTree firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- LiloTree
- Legal name
- LiloTree LLC
- Website
- https://lilotree.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- LiloTree is a privately held advanced materials company that develops and manufactures patented surface finish chemistries, notably ENIG-Premium and Ni-less ENIG-Premium, for PCB and IC manufacturers globally, addressing reliability failures while reducing gold consumption.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where LiloTree is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seattle
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
LiloTree business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Surface Finish Products: Sale of proprietary plating chemistries including Ni-less ENIG-Premium, ENIG-Premium, Lilo-BL, LILO-Pretreat, LILO-EAu, and NanoCleaner. These are consumable chemistry products sold to PCB and IC manufacturers.
- Plating Services: Customized plating services provided to customers who need surface finish processing but prefer to outsource rather than implement in-house.
- Failure Analysis and Solutions: Root cause identification and failure analysis services for customer parts and components experiencing malfunctions, including comprehensive reporting on why samples failed.
- Quality Compliance Testing: Testing and certification services including RoHS, REACH compliance, ASTM and Mil-Std testing, mechanical design testing, materials testing and analysis for semiconductor, consumer electronics, aviation, aerospace, and medical industries.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels7 records
LiloTree product offering
Product offeringCore offering
LiloTree develops and manufactures patented surface finish chemistries (ENIG-Premium, Ni-less ENIG-Premium, Lilo-BL, LILO-Pretreat, LILO-EAu, NanoCleaner, Lilo ImmAu) sold as consumables to PCB and IC manufacturers. It also provides customized plating services, failure analysis and root-cause investigations, and quality compliance testing (RoHS, REACH, ASTM, Mil-Std) for electronics, semiconductor, aerospace, and medical device manufacturers.
Product overview
LiloTree is an advanced materials technology company offering a portfolio of patented surface finish solutions for PCB and IC manufacturing. The core products include Ni-less ENIG-Premium (nickel-free solution for 5G/HDI applications) and ENIG-Premium (enhanced reliability ENIG). Supporting the main surface finishes are complementary chemical products including Lilo-BL (corrosion inhibitor barrier layer), NanoCleaner (surface preparation), LILO-EAu (cyanide-free gold plating), and LILO-Pretreat (multi-purpose pre-treatment). The company also provides associated services including customized plating services, failure analysis solutions, and quality compliance testing, all designed to deliver optimum performance and better reliability at lower cost for electronic assemblies.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ENIG-Premium: Patented ENIG surface finish designed to eliminate black pad and corrosion issues; cyan-free rose-gold finish with improved corrosion resistance by a factor of 10; IPC 4552A Compliant
- Ni-less ENIG-Premium
- Lilo-BL
- LILO-Pretreat
- LILO-EAu
- NanoCleaner
Products and services
- ENIG-Premium Patented ENIG surface finish that resolves reliability concerns and field failures caused by traditional ENIG processes. IPC 4552A compliant, cyanide-free rose-gold finish, with 10x improved corrosion resistance, no black pads, no brittle solder joint failures, and up to 40% gold material savings versus ENIG and ENEPIG. Sold to PCB and IC manufacturers.
- Ni-less ENIG-Premium Patented nickel-free surface finish solution for HDI, 5G, high-frequency, RF, and microwave PCB applications. Provides low insertion loss, no brittle solder joint failures, long shelf life with Au-based surface finish, lower gold thickness (50 vs. 200 nm), and is cyanide-free and RoHS compliant. Sold to PCB manufacturers and IC packagers.
- Plating Services Customized plating services for electronic assemblies, including application of Ni-less ENIG-Premium and ENIG-Premium surface finishes, provided to customers who prefer to outsource surface finish processing rather than implement it in-house.
- Failure Analysis and Solutions Root cause identification and analysis services for malfunctions and failures in customer parts and components, including fracture evaluation, chemical attack, corrosion, contaminant analysis, stress-related failures, and environmentally assisted cracking, with comprehensive reporting on why samples failed.
- Quality Compliance Testing Quality compliance testing services covering RoHS and REACH compliance, ASTM and Mil-Std testing, mechanical design and robustness testing, materials analysis, chemical analysis, and counterfeit product verification for semiconductor, consumer electronics, aviation, aerospace, and medical industries.
Quantifiable outcome
- Up to 40% reduction in gold material consumption compared to ENIG and ENEPIG processes
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use LiloTree
Customer profileSegments5 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
LiloTree technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
LiloTree partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Taiyo America, Inc.coreTaiyo America serves as LiloTree's sales representative for North America and Europe. This partnership extends LiloTree's market reach in the PCB industry through Taiyo America's established distribution network. The partnership provides innovative nickel-free and cyanide-free gold plating processes to customers in these regions.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
LiloTree competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Technic Inc. Technic is a US-based specialty plating chemistry company producing electroless nickel, immersion gold, and other surface finishes for electronics and industrial applications. Comparable mid-sized specialty chemicals supplier serving PCB manufacturers with overlapping surface finish chemistries and a similar B2B specialty materials operating model.
- MacDermid Enthone Electronics Solutions (Element Solutions): MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions is the electronics arm of Element Solutions Inc and supplies ENIG, ENEPIG, immersion tin, OSP, and other PCB surface finish chemistries. Direct competitor in the same surface finish category, with comparable global sales/service infrastructure and an overlapping PCB and IC substrate customer base.
- JX Nippon Mining & Metals: JX Nippon Mining & Metals produces precious metal plating chemistries and sputtering targets for electronics manufacturing, including surface finishes for PCBs and IC substrates. Comparable vertically integrated player with a broader non-ferrous metals portfolio but meaningful direct overlap in immersion gold and PCB surface finish chemistries.
- Uyemura & Co., Ltd. Uyemura is a Japanese specialty plating chemistry supplier with a long-standing ENIG, immersion gold, and precious metal plating portfolio for PCB manufacturing. Direct competitor to LiloTree in nickel-free and cyanide-free gold plating chemistries, particularly strong across Asian PCB and IC substrate customers.
- MEC Company Ltd. MEC Company is a Japanese specialty chemicals supplier focused on electroless plating and surface finish chemistries for semiconductors, PCBs, and IC substrates. Direct overlap with LiloTree's ENIG-Premium and Ni-less ENIG-Premium product positioning for high-reliability and high-frequency PCB applications.
- Atotech (MKS Instruments): Atotech, acquired by MKS Instruments in 2022, is a global leader in specialty plating chemistry for PCB and IC substrate manufacturing with the broadest ENIG/ENEPIG and alternative surface finish portfolio. Direct overlap with LiloTree's ENIG-Premium and Ni-less ENIG-Premium product lines, serving the same PCB manufacturers globally with direct field sales and application engineering.
Broad incumbents
- Element Solutions Inc: Element Solutions is the parent of MacDermid Enthone Electronics Solutions and operates a portfolio of specialty chemistry businesses across electronics, industrial, and energy markets. Listed broad incumbent whose electronics arm directly competes with LiloTree in PCB surface finishes.
- Heraeus Electronics: Heraeus Electronics is the electronics division of Heraeus Group, supplying precious metal-based materials, thick film pastes, and plating chemistry to PCB and semiconductor packaging customers globally. Larger, diversified incumbent with overlapping surface finish chemistry offerings alongside a much broader materials portfolio.
- Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials (Dow): Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials, now part of Dow, supplies PCB and IC packaging materials including metallization and surface treatment chemistries to global electronics manufacturers. Significantly larger incumbent supplying surface finish and related chemistries to the same PCB and IC substrate customer base as LiloTree.
- DuPont Electronics & Industrial: DuPont's Electronics & Industrial segment supplies metallization, plating chemistry, and PCB materials via legacy Dow and DuPont product lines, including surface finish chemistries used by major PCB manufacturers. Significantly larger incumbent with overlapping surface finish offerings bundled into a much broader electronic materials portfolio.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
LiloTree social profiles
Digital presenceLiloTree compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
LiloTree financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
LiloTree leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
LiloTree funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
LiloTree M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about LiloTree
What does LiloTree do?
LiloTree develops and manufactures patented surface finish chemistries (ENIG-Premium, Ni-less ENIG-Premium, Lilo-BL, LILO-Pretreat, LILO-EAu, NanoCleaner, Lilo ImmAu) sold as consumables to PCB and IC manufacturers. It also provides customized plating services, failure analysis and root-cause investigations, and quality compliance testing (RoHS, REACH, ASTM, Mil-Std) for electronics, semiconductor, aerospace, and medical device manufacturers.
Is LiloTree a public or private company?
LiloTree is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was LiloTree founded?
LiloTree was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is LiloTree based?
LiloTree is headquartered in Seattle, United States, in the North America region.
How does LiloTree make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Surface Finish Products are the primary driver. The others are plating Services, failure Analysis and Solutions and quality Compliance Testing.
Who are LiloTree's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Technic Inc., MacDermid Enthone Electronics Solutions (Element Solutions), JX Nippon Mining & Metals, Uyemura & Co., Ltd., MEC Company Ltd. and Atotech (MKS Instruments). Broad incumbents are Element Solutions Inc, Heraeus Electronics, Rohm and Haas Electronic Materials (Dow) and DuPont Electronics & Industrial.
Does LiloTree have an API?
No public API is recorded for LiloTree.