Nanotech startup Log 9 Materials tops up pre-Series A funding round

Bengaluru-based nanotechnology startup Log 9 Materials Scientific Pvt. Ltd has raised Rs 3 crore ($436,000) in an extended pre-Series A round from a clutch of investors that include Metaform Ventures.

Hemant Luthra, chairman at auto-parts maker Mahindra CIE Ltd; Delhi-based micro venture capital firm GEMS Partners and some angel investors participated in this round, the startup said in a statement. It didn’t disclose the angel investors’ names.

The development comes a little more than a year after the startup secured an undisclosed amount in pre-Series A funding from GEMs in May last year.

The startup will use the fresh capital funds to strengthen its commercial operations, product portfolio and for research and development.

Log 9 founder Akshay Singhal said the company is developing an array of projects, ranging from air filtration products, water filter beds, oil spill management to next-generation batteries for electric vehicles.

Founded by IIT Roorkee alumnus Singhal, Log 9 is attempting to create commercial nanotech products and technologies which can either be launched as a business-to-consumer product or licensed out to corporate houses and generate revenue.

The startup’s core focus area is graphene nanotechnology. It also makes high-quality nanomaterials in bulk for industrial production. The company claims its most recent product, Log 9 Oil Sorbent, can absorb up to five times more oil than its competing products. A previous product was PuFF, a graphene-based filter that can be attached to cigarettes to reduce the toxic chemicals in cigarette smoke by.

The company is developing a prototype of a product based on metal-air battery that is intended to provide clean energy solutions for electric vehicles, Singhal had said earlier.