Matnex
3 known investors
MatNex is a materials design company that uses first-principles computation, machine learning, and materials engineering to design new materials to customer-specified performance and cost targets, and owns the resulting material IP. It is starting with rare-earth-free magnets for industries such as EVs, wind turbines, data storage, and electronics, with plans to expand into fluids, semiconductors, batteries, and superconductors.
Also known as MatNex
Investors · 3
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Company profile
researched Aug 2026MatNex is a materials design company that develops new materials against customer-defined performance and cost targets, with stability and manufacturability treated as design constraints from the outset. Instead of trial-and-error discovery, the company applies first-principles computation, machine learning and materials engineering to arrive at validated material candidates, following a design, validate, protect, deploy and scale sequence. The intended output of each programme is protectable material intellectual property suited to industrial deployment.
The initial application area is rare-earth-free magnetics, targeting magnets used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, data storage, refrigeration, electronics and industrial systems, positioned against rare-earth supply chains the company describes as expensive, volatile and strategically constrained. MatNex states that magnetics is the first expression of its design platform rather than its limit, and identifies fluids, semiconductors, batteries and superconductors as further constrained material systems it intends to address.
The team spans materials science, AI systems, first-principles modelling, lab validation, manufacturing readiness, IP strategy, programme delivery and commercial execution. It is led by CEO and co-founder Dr Jonathan Bean and CTO and co-founder Dr Robert Forrest, with staff grouped across scientific computing, machine learning, software engineering, platform science, technical programme management, product management, operations, finance, and people and talent. An advisory group covers industrial scale-up, magnetics, computational physics, advanced materials, commercial strategy and manufacturing partnerships, and includes academics from Cambridge, York, Sheffield, Cranfield, University at Buffalo and MPI Mainz alongside operators and non-executive advisors with backgrounds at Yahoo, comScore, Splunk, Salesforce, BP, Shell, BAE Systems, KPMG and Baker Graphene.
Founding story
MatNex was co-founded by Dr Jonathan Bean, who serves as CEO, and Dr Robert Forrest, who serves as CTO.
Business model
MatNex designs and retains ownership of the material IP it develops, while manufacturing partners scale production and customers deploy the materials into industrial systems. Each customer programme is intended to add licensable material IP as well as data, validation workflows, qualification knowledge and commercial experience that feed subsequent programmes.
Programme-based commercial terms combining development fees, milestone payments and royalties tied to deployment of the licensed material IP.
Traction
The company lists investors including Ada Ventures, HTGF, Conviction Partners, Founders Factory and Cambridge Enterprise, and names roughly two dozen technical and operational staff plus an advisory group.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market
Market position
Positions itself as a critical materials design company addressing rare-earth dependence in industrial magnets, an area where it cites expensive, volatile and strategically constrained supply chains.
Technology
A materials design engine combining first-principles computation, machine learning and materials engineering, with lab validation and manufacturability and stability requirements built into the design process, applied first to rare-earth-free magnetic materials and intended to extend to fluids, semiconductors, batteries and superconductors.
Go-to-market
Customer-defined design programmes in which MatNex designs to specified targets, licenses the resulting material IP, and works with manufacturing partners for production scale-up.
Advanced industrial manufacturers and system builders that require materials meeting specified performance and cost targets, initially magnet users in electric vehicles, wind turbines, data storage, refrigeration, electronics and industrial systems.
Compiled by commissioned research from 1 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
▸Research sources · 1
primary sources listed
- Matnexmatnex.ai · web
1 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Matnex do?
- MatNex designs critical materials to customer performance and cost targets, starting with rare-earth-free magnets.
- Who are Matnex's investors?
- Matnex's investors include G-Force, Genuine Capital Ventures, Ada Ventures.