Via the Rochester Business Journal
As industries push toward faster, smaller, and more powerful technologies, the demand for advanced materials — particularly thin films — has never been greater. But for startups, research labs and even large companies working at the cutting edge, accessing the right thin film remains a major hurdle. High-performance options are often limited, expensive, or not built for customization, making it difficult to bring breakthrough ideas from the lab to market.
VanaM Inc., a South Korea-based advanced materials startup, is working to remove these barriers. The company has developed a thin-film deposition platform that blends scientific precision with manufacturing flexibility, fueling faster and more collaborative development of complex films than traditional suppliers can achieve.
Born from research, built for industry
Founded in 2022 by Dr. Soodeok Han, VanaM traces its origins to years of research on vanadium dioxide (VO₂), a complex material with promising applications in optics and quantum systems. By overcoming the challenges in VO₂ deposition, the team — composed of Ph.D.-level experts in materials science and semiconductor engineering — laid the groundwork for a broader, more versatile thin film platform.
“We realized the process we developed for VO₂ could be applied to other next-generation materials, and that there was a real market opportunity to do things differently,” said Sahar Ayachi, Chief Strategy Officer at VanaM Inc.
VanaM was created to provide not just materials, but a full development service — from prototyping to batch production.
“We’re not offering off-the-shelf films,” Ayachi said. “We work closely with each customer to design and deliver thin films that meet their exact application needs.”
The companies of Luminate cohort 8 will compete for $2 million in follow-on funding at Luminate Finals 2025 on October 22. The program is funded by Empire State Development’s Finger Lakes Forward Upstate Revitalization Initiative. For more information about the Luminate accelerator and Finals 2025, visit luminate.org.