What Seaborough does

Seaborough Materials Research B.V. is an Amsterdam-based nanoscience company founded in 2013 and operating as a portfolio company of Momentum Global Ventures (acquired 2016). It develops and commercializes nano-engineered luminescent materials built on its proprietary Inter-Particle Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (IFRET) technology, which combines purpose-built nanomaterials — a blue-absorbing sensitizer such as YAG:Ce with an Eu3+-based emitter — to precisely control light absorption, conversion, and emission at the nanoscale.

The company sells three core products targeting distinct markets. EuroLED is a patented nano-engineered Eu3+-based phosphor for warm white LEDs, delivering 10-20% more lumens per watt at CRI 80-95 and up to 18% luminous efficacy improvement over nitrides and 7% over KSF/PFS in 3000K white LEDs. Lumicrypt is an IFRET-based anti-counterfeit security pigment providing multi-level (Level 1-3) authentication that is not reverse-engineerable, targeted at luxury goods, banknotes, and identity documents. Crystalight is a nanocrystalline YAG:Ce phosphor with tunable particle sizes below 20 nanometers and near-unity quantum yields, available in Mini/Micro and High Power & Ceramics variants for displays and high-power lighting. A newer greenhouse agriculture line of light-conversion nanomaterials extends the platform into agritech.

Seaborough operates a B2B licensing and R&D services model, embedding its phosphor technologies at the component level into partners' LED packages rather than selling finished products. It partners with Luminus Devices for LED package integration, with Current Chemicals for industrial upscaling of EuroLED, and with academic and industry collaborators including Universiteit Utrecht and Fraunhofer. Revenue is generated through technology licensing/royalties and R&D services with enterprise customers; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company is privately held by Momentum Global Ventures under Momentum Technology Fund I, which initiated the sale process for the Seaborough ventures in late 2024.

Name

Seaborough

Legal name

Seaborough Materials Research B.V.

Website

https://seaborough.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Seaborough is an Amsterdam-based nanoscience company that invents, develops, and licenses proprietary IFRET nano-engineered phosphor technologies (EuroLED, Lumicrypt, Crystalight) to LED manufacturers, security inks makers, and display producers via B2B licensing and R&D partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nano-engineered Luminescent Phosphors

NAICS

Synthetic Dye and Pigment Manufacturing (32513), Electric Lamp Bulb and Other Lighting Equipment Manufacturing (335139)

SIC

Miscellaneous Chemical Products (2890)

akta.pro primary industry

Display & Optoelectronics Chemicals (OLED/LCD materials, polarizer chemicals) (IMAEAKAN)

Keywords

• Nano-engineered phosphors
• Luminescent nanomaterials
• LED phosphor licensing
• Anti-counterfeit security inks
• Warm white LED materials

Headquarters

HQ city

Amsterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Technology Licensing: Seaborough licenses its proprietary nano-engineered luminescent technologies (EuroLED, Lumicrypt, Crystalight) to LED manufacturers, lighting solution providers, and security inks makers. The company patents innovations and commercializes them through licensing agreements.
2. R&D Services: The company provides research and development services in partnership with customers, optimizing materials to target performance at lab scale and providing technology transfer for commercialization.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Seaborough invents, develops and commercializes proprietary nano-engineered luminescent phosphor materials built on its IFRET (Inter-Particle Förster Resonance Energy Transfer) platform. Its products—EuroLED for high-efficiency warm-white LEDs, Lumicrypt for anti-counterfeiting security pigments, and Crystalight for sub-20nm display and high-power LED phosphors—are licensed to LED manufacturers, security-ink makers, and greenhouse technology integrators rather than sold as standalone consumer goods.

Product overview

Seaborough is a nanoscience and nanotechnology company specializing in luminescent nanomaterials. The company offers a portfolio of three core products: EuroLED® (a patented nano-engineered Eu3+-based phosphor for efficient warm white LED lighting with 10-20% higher efficacy), Lumicrypt® (an IFRET-based anti-counterfeit security solution with multi-level authentication), and Crystalight® (nanocrystalline YAG:Ce phosphors with tunable sub-20nm particles for displays and high-power lighting). Additional offerings include light-conversion nanomaterials for greenhouse agriculture. All products leverage proprietary inter-particle energy transfer (IFRET) technology developed through nanoscale engineering of luminescent materials.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• EuroLED A patented warm white nano-engineered Eu3+-based phosphor solution that provides 10% to 20% more lumens per watt for CRI 80-95 LED applications, offering stability, low saturation and color tunability based on Seaborough's proprietary IFRET technology. Licensed to LED manufacturers and lighting solution providers for integration into warm-white LED packages.
• Lumicrypt An advanced anti-counterfeit security solution based on Seaborough's proprietary IFRET technology, using nano-engineered luminescent pigments with tunable spectral signatures to provide multi-level authentication (Level 1 overt to Level 3 forensic) for luxury goods, banknotes, identity documents and secure credentials that cannot be reverse-engineered even if composition is known.
• Crystalight A nanocrystalline YAG:Ce phosphor with tunable particle sizes from below 20 nanometers to several microns and near-unity quantum yields, unlocking advanced mini/micro-LED display and high-power LED lighting applications as a tunable YAG:Ce nano-phosphor family.
• Crystalight Mini/Micro Nanocrystalline (Lu,Y)AG:Ce powder with tunable sizes down to sub-20 nanometers, narrow size distribution, high performance, high stability and tunable composition, targeted at mini-LED and micro-LED display backlighting applications.
• Crystalight High Power & Ceramics A nano-garnet based ceramic composite with improved thermal conductivity and new shaping possibilities that does not require cutting or sawing, designed for durable, high-performance high-power LED lighting systems.
• Light-conversion nanomaterials for greenhouse applications Nano-engineered phosphors for greenhouse applications that reshape sunlight to convert under-utilized UV and blue light into photosynthetically active red light, supporting red-shift and PAR+ strategies that improve crop yields without additional energy consumption.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10% to 20% more lumens per watt for CRI 80-95 LED applications
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and supporting.

• Luminus DevicesflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 May 2025Partnership to bring the world's first LED with nano-engineered Eu3+-based phosphor to market commercially. Luminus Devices receives early access to Seaborough's EuroLED phosphor technology for testing in LED packages. Both parties expect collaboration to enable scale up and global launch of first LED lighting applications produced with EuroLED.
• Current ChemicalsflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 January 2024Partnership to industrialize Seaborough's EuroLED phosphor technology. Current Chemicals (spun off from GE Lighting's chemical division with 75+ years materials expertise) handles industrial upscaling while Seaborough optimizes materials at lab scale and provides technology transfer. Agreement signed for EuroLED rollout.
• YolecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024M&A specialist engaged to develop market report and licensing strategy for Nano Materials venture. Delivered market report validating EuroLED's potential and associated patents, allowing next step in sales process for the Seaborough ventures.
• KearneycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Global management consulting firm engaged for independent market analysis of SunLED venture. Conducted consumer validation in US, Europe, and China and validated interest from business leaders at world's largest consumer electronics brands.
• ClearviewIP (Deloitte subsidiary)supportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2024Leading global advisory firm specializing in intellectual property, acquired by Deloitte. Appointed to manage IP sale process for the Ultima venture (mercury replacement for fluorescent tubes) patent portfolio.
• Universiteit UtrechtsupportingTechnology or IntegrationAcademic partner providing scientific validation and research collaboration. Professor Andries Meijerink (Solid State Chemistry) provides external validation of EuroLED technology concept.
• FraunhofersupportingTechnology or IntegrationListed as a partner logo on Seaborough website, indicating collaboration in science and industry.
• FGKsupportingTechnology or IntegrationListed as a partner logo on Seaborough website, indicating collaboration in science and industry.
• EurekasupportingTechnology or IntegrationListed as a partner logo on Seaborough website, indicating collaboration in science and industry.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Luminus Devices: Specialty high-power LED packager and an active Seaborough partner for EuroLED. While currently a customer, Luminus also develops its own phosphor/LED solutions and represents the channel through which Seaborough's technology reaches end-products.
• Current Chemicals (GE Lighting heritage): Specialty chemicals company spun out of GE Lighting's chemical division with 75+ years of materials expertise, partnered with Seaborough in 2024 to industrialize EuroLED phosphors. Operates as a proximate specialty chemical / phosphor producer with comparable niche-positioning.

Broad incumbents

• DOWA Electronics Materials: Japanese specialty chemical and phosphor manufacturer supplying nitride, YAG and KSF/PFS phosphors to LED and display makers. Direct phosphor competitor; their incumbent products (KSF/PFS) are explicitly mentioned in Seaborough efficacy comparisons.
• SICPA: Global leader in security inks and authentication features for banknotes, identity documents and high-value goods. Directly comparable to Seaborough's Lumicrypt business in serving anti-counterfeiting integrators with specialty pigments/inks.
• Denka Corporation: Major Japanese chemical and inorganic materials producer with established phosphor and LED materials portfolio. Competes with Seaborough in supplying specialty luminescent materials to LED manufacturers.
• Nichia Corporation: Largest global LED phosphor and LED chip maker. Operates broadly across lighting and display LEDs with substantial captive phosphor R&D — the dominant incumbent against which any nano-phosphor entrant (like Seaborough) must compete for licensing or inclusion in package designs.
• Mitsubishi Chemical (LDS / MCC): Large diversified chemicals group with LED phosphor and luminescent material offerings. Comparable to Seaborough as a specialty phosphor supplier serving LED package and lighting OEMs.
• Intematix (now part of SMART Global Holdings): Historical leader in remote-phosphor and silicate/nitride phosphors for LEDs and general lighting. Comparable to Seaborough as a phosphor-IP licensor whose technology is integrated into LED packages and fixtures.

Emerging players

• NanoLumens: Niche nano-emissive-materials company (UK) focused on cadmium-free quantum dots for displays. Comparable nano-engineered emission technology targeting mini/micro-LED display end-markets overlapping Seaborough's Crystalight.
• Nanoco Group: UK-listed nanomaterials company specializing in quantum-dot and nano-scale emissive materials for display and lighting. Comparable R&D-heavy licensing business addressing the same display/lighting customer base as Seaborough's Crystalight product.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

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 Seaborough