Octet Scientific, the Cleveland startup that is developing specialty chemicals for large, zinc-based batteries, has finished raising its $1 million seed round to help scale up the company's first large product line.
The funding round was led by the Advanced Manufacturing Fund, which is funded and managed by JumpStart Ventures with support from the Manufacturing Advocacy Growth Network (better known as MAGNET), both based in Cleveland.
The first $200,000 installment of the seed round investment came from the Gale Family Office.
Octet develops specialty chemicals for zinc-based batteries, which are inexpensive, nontoxic and sustainable alternatives to lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries.
And we're not talking AA batteries for handheld electronics. Octet's chemicals are being tested in large batteries that provide backup power for data centers and grid storage for renewable energy generators.
Octet's proprietary chemicals are expected to play an important role in improving these promising young technologies, JumpStart said in a statement. This is one reason why the Cleveland Business Journal chose Octet Scientific as one of its Startups to Watch in 2023.
"It’s becoming clear that zinc batteries have massive potential, and that we’ve got the chemicals to get the most out of them," said Octet's founder and CEO, Onas Bolton, in a statement. "We’ve got Octet in (a) position to lead this new market, and this funding puts critical wind in our sails."
Octet recently was approved for a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation's SBIR Program, which the company is using to scale its prototypes and expand to broader markets, JumpStart said.
The seed funding is aimed at supporting Octet’s non-grant activities through 2024 as it scales its first large product line, JumpStart said.
The Advanced Manufacturing Fund invests in early-stage manufacturers and companies that develop physical products and was initially funded in 2021 by the Ohio Third Frontier program and private funders.
