/Companies

Mobius Materials

YC S20

San Francisco, US · Founded 2020 · Delaware corporation · 6 employees · 11 known investors

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Mobius Materials operates a certified marketplace enabling contract manufacturers and OEMs to buy and sell excess electronic components directly, addressing annual waste of $15B in discarded components despite ongoing demand. The platform serves industries including consumer electronics, oil & gas, healthcare, gaming, and industrial systems globally.

Also known as Mobius

Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (S20)

Mobius Materials was founded in 2020 by Margaret Upshur.

MUMargaret Upshur
Margaret UpshurFounderShe previously served as operations lead at Particle, where she oversaw a multinational team that developed and shipped multiple product lines, and earlier worked as a consultant at McKinsey focused on manufacturing. She holds an engineering degree from Duke University.

Investors · 11

Also in the syndicate · 1

Outsiders Fund

Funding

SEC filings, press & company announcements

$6.6M disclosed across 3 rounds · 2022–2025

▶$640KraisedApr 2023 · 14 investors · Other
Rule 506(b)
Officers, directors & promoters on the filing
  • Margaret UpshurExecutive Officer, Director
Offering amount
$640K
Amount sold
$640K
Minimum investment
$5K
First sale
Dec 2022
Incorporated
Corporation, Delaware, 2020
Federal exemptions
06b
Full filing on SEC EDGAR ↗

Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.

Company profile

researched Aug 2026

Mobius Materials operates an online marketplace for electronic components, focused on redirecting manufacturers' excess and surplus inventory back into the supply chain. Buyers can source parts through requests for quote (RFQ) or by creating an account, while holders of surplus stock list parts for sale. The company states it sells verified integrated circuits from established semiconductor manufacturers, including Texas Instruments, Analog Devices, Vishay, Murata, Onsemi, Microchip, ST Microelectronics and NXP Semiconductors, and publishes in-stock unit counts by manufacturer ranging from roughly 136,000 NXP parts to 8.5 million Murata parts.

The company positions its offering around two buyer benefits: price, with a stated 10-70% discount versus market rates on common parts depending on component grade, and availability, providing access to scarce stock held by other hardware manufacturers during shortages. It says it accepts parts only from vetted suppliers and tests parts for authenticity, and markets a sourcing timeline of under two weeks for certified parts, supported by live product walkthroughs booked with its team.

Founding story

Founder and CEO Margaret Upshur describes the company's origin in her prior role as head of operations for an IoT module manufacturer, where each year she discarded hundreds of thousands of dollars of new excess components while simultaneously paying high prices for comparable parts. Mobius Materials was framed as a way to fix that mismatch by improving manufacturers' P&L and returning surplus parts to the supply chain.

Business model

Two-sided marketplace intermediating between manufacturers holding excess electronic components and buyers seeking those parts, with the company handling supplier vetting and authenticity testing of the goods transacted.

Traction

The company publishes in-stock inventory counts across eight semiconductor manufacturers, including 8.5M+ Murata, 1.6M+ Vishay, 1.4M+ Onsemi, 578k+ Texas Instruments, 518k+ ST Microelectronics, 296k+ Microchip, 212k+ Analog Devices and 136k+ NXP parts. Cited customer testimonials report substituting 12 parts on a bill of materials for more than 25% cost savings, and a seller moving from fewer than two parts sold per month through brokers to more than 10 orders per month after working with Mobius.

▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market

Market position

Positioned as an alternative to component brokers for excess-inventory transactions, competing on authenticity assurance, price relative to market rates and access to hard-to-find stock.

Emphasis on supplier vetting and comprehensive authenticity testing of components, access to rare stock stockpiled by other hardware manufacturers, discounts of 10-70% on common parts, and a stated sourcing turnaround of under two weeks, contrasted on the company's site with traditional broker channels.

Technology

Web-based marketplace with component search, RFQ-based purchasing, seller listing tools and account registration, combined with authenticity testing of parts sourced from vetted suppliers.

Go-to-market

Self-serve account signup and RFQ-based buying on the company's website, sell-side listing of parts, and sales-assisted onboarding via scheduled live product demonstrations with the Mobius team.

Hardware manufacturers, contract manufacturers and OEM operations and sourcing teams, both as buyers of components and as sellers of excess inventory. Customer testimonials cited on the company's site come from a chief executive officer and a manufacturing and operations leader.

Compiled by commissioned research from 1 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.

Key figures

latest reported
Analog Devices parts in stockJan 2024212,000 units
Cost savings on common parts vs. market ratesJan 202410-70% off common parts, varying by component grade
HeadcountAug 202615
Microchip parts in stockJan 2024296,000 units
Murata parts in stockJan 20248,500,000 units
NXP Semiconductors parts in stockJan 2024136,000 units
Onsemi parts in stockJan 20241,400,000 units
ST Microelectronics parts in stockJan 2024518,000 units
Stated sourcing lead time for certified partsJan 2024Under two weeks
Texas Instruments parts in stockJan 2024578,000 units
Vishay parts in stockJan 20241,600,000 units

Company-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.

Related companies · 5

OctopartOctopart provides a search and comparison platform for electronic components, delivering pricing, availability, and technical specifications data for millions of parts sourced from over 400 distributors and manufacturers. The platform serves engineers and procurement teams looking to identify parts, compare options, and optimize component sourcing.
OuterportOuterport automates the design of electrical and control systems within heavy industrial equipment, using AI agents to convert specifications into verified CAD drawings and structured design models. The platform serves manufacturers and OEMs building complex machines across semiconductors, process plants, and mechanical equipment.
Inversion SemiconductorInversion Semiconductor develops next-generation semiconductor lithography equipment based on miniaturized particle accelerators that increase transistor density and improve chip manufacturing precision. The platform enables semiconductor fabricators to scale transistor production toward physical limits while improving throughput and uniformity in advanced chip production.
Aerogen SystemsAerogen Systems develops point-of-use contamination control for semiconductor manufacturing, using a modular reactor that chemically destroys airborne molecular contamination where wafers sit exposed. Its systems aim to reduce yield loss and ultra-high-purity nitrogen purge costs for fabs, with a longer-term goal of eliminating the need for cleanrooms.
hardware intelligenceHardware Intelligence builds an agent-native toolchain for chip design, starting with Wave, an agentic waveform debugger for terminal use.

Companies working in the same space as Mobius Materials.

Legal entities · 2

corporate structure
Mobius MaterialsDelaware
Mobius Materials, Inc.

In the news

▸Research sources · 1

primary sources listed

1 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.

Frequently asked questions

What does Mobius Materials do?
Mobius Materials runs a marketplace where manufacturers buy and sell tested, authenticated excess electronic components.
Who founded Mobius Materials?
Mobius Materials was founded by Margaret Upshur in 2020.
Who are Mobius Materials's investors?
Mobius Materials's investors include JHH vc, Lighthouse Network Ventures Llc, Outsiders, Spero Ventures, StartX, The E14 Fund, Undeterred Capital, Y Combinator and 2 more.
How much funding has Mobius Materials raised?
Mobius Materials has disclosed $6.6M raised across 3 rounds.
Where is Mobius Materials headquartered?
Mobius Materials is headquartered in San Francisco, US.