Kuprion Inc

Kuprion Inc is a San Jose, California materials company that develops copper-based interconnect and thermal management materials for electronics. Its ActiveCopper product line covers sintering pastes, adhesives, inks and gaskets, together with thermal management solutions and custom engineering support. The formulations can be tuned to specific coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) so that bonding material matches substrates such as ceramics, silicon, silicon carbide and gallium nitride, reducing the temperature-induced stresses, fractures and delamination that arise from CTE mismatch in devices operating at high temperature or through wide temperature swings.

The materials are positioned as a lead-free alternative to lead-based solder, supporting RoHS compliance, and after processing revert to bulk copper, which the company states makes them compliant with EU REACH and RoHS rules. Applications include die attach for power devices, large-die and heat-sink attach, direct bond copper (DBC) aluminum nitride and silicon nitride substrate attach to AlSiC base plates, thermal via formation, glass and through-silicon via fill, copper pillar attach, EMI shielding, micro-bumping and redistribution layers in 2.5D and 3D interposers, and 3D component stacking. Reported product characteristics include thermal conductivity up to 393 W/mK and bonding to ceramics at temperatures below 250°C.

Target end markets span power and industrial, automotive and electric vehicles, semiconductor and advanced packaging, telecommunications and 5G infrastructure, aerospace, military and defense, consumer electronics, data centers and cloud computing, green energy generation, and medical electronics. Element Solutions Inc acquired the company in May 2023.

Founding story

Kuprion's nanocopper technology originated at Lockheed Martin's Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto, California, where founder Dr. Alfred Zinn was a Fellow and Dr. Randy Stoltenberg spent seven years working on program management, process scaling and application and process development for nanocopper. Sources describe the work as beginning at Lockheed Martin in 2008, with the company established in 2016 and commercialization of the related pastes and inks following the transfer of rights in 2019.

Business model

Kuprion sells engineered copper materials business-to-business, through direct contracts with electronics manufacturers that often require formulations customized to their substrates and processes, complemented by custom engineering support and distribution collaborations such as the DuPont MCM arrangement for thick film pastes.

Revenue comes from direct sales of ActiveCopper pastes, adhesives, inks and gaskets to automotive, telecommunications, semiconductor and other manufacturers, with pricing described as structured by project scope and volume and supplemented by longer-term supply relationships. Third-party estimates place annual revenue in the $1M-$10M range.

Traction

Reported traction includes the DuPont MCM collaboration to commercialize ActiveCopper thick film pastes, a patent portfolio (the founder holds over 22 US patents and the chief science officer 9), reported 2022 demand across applications such as 1x6 mm power devices, 10x10 mm large die, heat sink attach, 2-inch DBC AlN and SiN to AlSiC base plate attachment, thermal via formation, glass via and TSV fill, copper pillar attach, EMI shielding and 3D integration, and an acquisition by a publicly traded specialty chemicals company.

Latest developments

Element Solutions Inc acquired Kuprion on May 19, 2023 for $15.9 million net of cash upfront plus milestone-based earn-outs of up to $259 million through December 31, 2030, an aggregate reported at approximately $270 million; the transaction was announced in June 2023 and is highlighted on Kuprion's website.