3 companies · 7 sourced backers · 23 milestones on record
This frontier covers engineered materials and surfaces for optical devices, alongside electric processes for producing metals. Lumotive and Metalenz aim to replace bulky or conventional optics with compact chips and flat lenses, while Boston Metal aims to make molten oxide electrolysis commercially viable for industrial metal production.
Where the 3 companies stand today, from their profiles and 10-year milestones. Tap a phase to see who is there.
- ▸Making electronic beam-steering chips practical for sensing systems
- ▸Integrating flat lenses into mass-produced devices
- ▸Scaling electric metal production to industrial levels
- ▸Achieving commercially viable metal production
- ›Every sourced story on all frontiers, filterable by company and news type
- ›10-year milestone records for each company: demo vs shipped
- ›Explained: plain-words readiness diagrams for real breakthroughs
- ›Signal Trends of 39 frontiers covering 378 companies over time.
- ›The events calendar: launches, approvals and deadlines ahead
- Boston Metal
To produce steel and other metals through molten oxide electrolysis rather than conventional carbon-intensive processing.
Trials · backed by ArcelorMittal, Breakthrough Energy
- Lumotive
To steer light electronically using optical metamaterials rather than bulky moving components.
Some users · backed by Samsung Ventures, USAA
- Metalenz
To replace conventional optical assemblies with compact flat lenses made from engineered surfaces.
Everyone · backed by Intel Capital, 3M Ventures
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