Avance advises Canatu Oy in its EUR 22 million late stage funding from Series C investments of EUR 10 million from new and existing investors, including Faurecia, Inventure and Infosto Group, and a loan of EUR 12 million from the European Investment Bank. This investment is one of the largest investments in a Finnish startup. The funding will enable Canatu to respond to solid market demand and to invest in R&D and manufacturing expansion.
Canatu started operations in 2008 as a spin-off from the Aalto University. Canatu’s founding partners – leading senior materials, characterization and aerosol technology scientists – developed and invented a new carbon nanomaterial, the Carbon NanoBud® (CNB), which is a hybrid of carbon nanotubes and fullerenes. They also invented a novel CNB thin film manufacturing technology, Direct Dry Printing® (DDP). These technologies enable roll-to-roll manufacturing of 3D formed, bendable and flexible touch sensors for numerous applications. Canatu started mass production deliveries in 2015.