MatNex
MatNex designs advanced materials to specification using AI, first-principles computation, and machine learning, then licenses the resulting IP to manufacturing partners. It serves industrial customers in EVs, wind energy, data storage, fusion, and broader sustainable technology sectors.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What MatNex does
MatNex is a UK-based AI-driven materials design company that uses first-principles computation, machine learning, and rigorous materials engineering to design advanced materials to customer-defined performance and cost specifications, replacing slow trial-and-error discovery. Its core platform combines proprietary tools including mMACE (a magnetic materials simulator achieving near-DFT accuracy at significantly lower computational cost) and reinforcement-learning-based generative design that produces novel material candidates beyond known families; the company is initially commercializing rare-earth-free permanent magnets for EV motors, wind turbines, data storage, refrigeration, electronics, and industrial systems, while extending research into superconductors, semiconductors, batteries, and fluids.
The company retains ownership of the material IP it designs and licenses it to manufacturing partners, generating revenue through a combination of programme development fees, milestone payments, and deployment royalties. It also secures direct government contracts, most notably an £8 million UKAEA award for project SHINE covering fusion shielding and fuel technologies. Customer engagement is B2B enterprise field sales targeting industrial companies with specific performance and cost requirements, augmented by content marketing through research publications and earned media in outlets such as The Economist, Reuters, and TechCrunch.
Founded in 2020 by Dr Jonathan Bean (CEO) and Dr Robert Forrest (CTO), with a 25+ person PhD-heavy team advised by Cambridge, MIT, and international academics and industrial veterans, MatNex has raised a £2 million seed round (July 2023) and a subsequent strategic round alongside a partnership with Viridien to industrialize its computational pipeline (February 2025). It was selected as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer 2026.
MatNex firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- MatNex
- Legal name
- Materials Nexus Ltd.
- Website
- https://matnex.ai
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- MatNex designs advanced materials to specification using AI, first-principles computation, and machine learning, then licenses the resulting IP to manufacturing partners. It serves industrial customers in EVs, wind energy, data storage, fusion, and broader sustainable technology sectors.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where MatNex is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
MatNex business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Material IP licensing: MatNex designs and owns material IP, then licenses it to manufacturing partners. Revenue comprises development fees, programme milestones, and royalties tied to deployment scale. Each programme adds licensable material IP.
- Government/defence contracts: Direct contracts with government agencies (e.g., UKAEA) for specific materials development programmes such as project SHINE for fusion shielding and fuel technologies.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
MatNex product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MatNex designs advanced materials to specification using an AI-driven platform that combines first-principles computation, machine learning, and rigorous materials engineering. Customers define performance and cost targets and MatNex delivers validated, protectable material IP licensed for industrial deployment. The first commercial focus is rare-earth-free permanent magnets for EVs, wind turbines, data storage, refrigeration, electronics, and industrial systems, with the platform also extending to fluids, semiconductors, batteries, and superconductors.
Product overview
MatNex offers a unified AI-driven materials design platform that designs materials to specification using first-principles computation, machine learning, and rigorous materials engineering. The platform encompasses rare-earth-free magnetics as the first commercial focus, alongside research into fluids, semiconductors, batteries, and superconductors. Key technology components include mMACE for magnetic materials simulation and generative design capabilities powered by reinforcement learning. The company operates a business model combining development fees, milestones, and royalties tied to deployment, with each programme adding licensable material IP.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Materials Design Platform
Quantifiable outcome
- Record speed development of rare-earth-free magnet with major implications for clean energy production
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use MatNex
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
MatNex technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability5 records
Feature3 records
MatNex partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- ViridiencorePartnership to rapidly scale MatNex's computational capacity using AI/HPC and optimization expertise. Viridien will industrialize MatNex's innovation pipeline to deliver the highest throughput of new material discoveries globally. Partnership focuses on energy generation, energy storage, transport, and sustainable computing for net-zero transition.
- UKAEA (UK Atomic Energy Authority)coreGovernment research authority awarded MatNex an £8M contract for project SHINE (Superior High-performance Intermetallics for Neutronic Evaluation) covering fusion shielding and fuel technologies
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
MatNex competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Exabyte.io: Exabyte.io provides a cloud-based materials informatics and simulation platform for industrial R&D, including AI-driven screening. It is an emerging competitor in materials informatics with overlap in the AI design workflow.
- MaterialsZone: MaterialsZone offers a materials informatics platform combining data management, AI, and collaboration tools for materials R&D teams. It overlaps with MatNex's enterprise materials data and AI workflows but focuses on software tooling rather than licensable material IP.
- Citrine Medicine / Kebotix-style material discovery startups in fusion: A loose cluster of early-stage AI-materials companies targeting fusion energy materials — including Type One Energy and Commonwealth Fusion Systems' material partners — overlap with MatNex's SHINE programme. These are emerging peers addressing the same fusion materials opportunity through AI/computation.
Direct peers
- Citrine Informatics: Citrine Informatics applies AI and data infrastructure to materials and chemicals development, helping industrial customers accelerate materials discovery and qualification. It is the most directly comparable US-headquartered peer to MatNex in AI-driven materials design for enterprise customers.
- Orbital Materials: Orbital Materials is a UK-based AI-for-materials company developing novel materials including carbon capture and battery chemistries. It shares MatNex's UK base, AI-first materials design approach, and enterprise/industrial go-to-market motion.
- CuspAI: CuspAI is an AI-driven materials discovery company applying generative models and first-principles computation to design new materials for energy and sustainability applications. It is a closely comparable peer in horizontal AI materials design with deep-tech positioning.
- Kebotix: Kebotix uses AI, robotics, and advanced computation to discover and develop new materials for industrial applications. It is a direct competitor in the AI-materials-discovery category with a similar enterprise B2B sales model.
Broad incumbents
- Schrödinger: Schrödinger is a publicly-traded computational chemistry and materials simulation company whose physics-based software platform overlaps with MatNex's first-principles approach. It serves as a broad incumbent in industrial computational materials, with a much larger portfolio, deeper customer base, and stronger balance sheet.
- Dassault Systèmes (BIOVIA): BIOVIA, the materials science arm of Dassault Systèmes, provides computational materials modelling, simulation, and lifecycle management software widely used by industrial customers. It is a broad incumbent in industrial materials software and an indirect competitor to MatNex's materials design platform.
Others
- Iambic (formerly Entos): Iambic uses AI and physics-based simulation to accelerate discovery, though in pharmaceuticals rather than inorganic materials. It shares the methodological DNA of AI-first molecular/material design with first-principles validation and is comparable as a methodological peer in AI-driven scientific discovery.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
MatNex social profiles
Digital presenceMatNex financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
MatNex leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
MatNex funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
MatNex 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 MatNex
What does MatNex do?
MatNex designs advanced materials to specification using an AI-driven platform that combines first-principles computation, machine learning, and rigorous materials engineering. Customers define performance and cost targets and MatNex delivers validated, protectable material IP licensed for industrial deployment. The first commercial focus is rare-earth-free permanent magnets for EVs, wind turbines, data storage, refrigeration, electronics, and industrial systems, with the platform also extending to fluids, semiconductors, batteries, and superconductors.
Is MatNex a public or private company?
MatNex is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was MatNex founded?
MatNex was founded in 2020. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is MatNex based?
MatNex is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does MatNex make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Material IP licensing is the primary driver. The others are government/defence contracts.
Who are MatNex's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Exabyte.io, MaterialsZone and Citrine Medicine / Kebotix-style material discovery startups in fusion. Direct peers are Citrine Informatics, Orbital Materials, CuspAI and Kebotix. Broad incumbents are Schrödinger and Dassault Systèmes (BIOVIA). Iambic (formerly Entos) is listed as an others.
Does MatNex have an API?
No public API is recorded for MatNex.