MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 13, 2026--
For decades, battery manufacturing has stood still despite advances in battery chemistry. Today, Material Hybrid Manufacturing Inc. (MATERIAL) announces it has raised $7.1 million in Seed funding, co-led by Outlander VC and Harpoon Ventures, with participation from GoAhead Ventures, Myelin VC, Demos Capital and Giant Step Capital, to break this stagnation and usher in a new era of energy design.
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Dead space is dead
MATERIAL’s proprietary HYBRID3D™ technology prints energy directly into a component of any shape and size, removing the barriers between design intent and manufacturing reality. This category-defining method produces batteries which adopt the shape of the object rather than forcing the object to accommodate a rigid, cylindrical or pouch cell. The platform unites multiple advanced additive and semiconductor manufacturing techniques to print energy into the very structure of a device.
“The world doesn't need another breakthrough in battery chemistry; it needs a breakthrough in how we make energy storage,” said Gabe Elias, CEO of MATERIAL and 7-time Formula One World Champion design engineer. “We are building the tools to make electrical energy formless. Whether it’s filling the hollow profile of a fixed-wing drone or conforming to the body of a wearable device user, our platform allows electrical power to behave like a fuel design element. Our technology allows us to deploy anywhere and print exactly what the application demands.”
Validating the Mission: $1.25M Air Force Contract
Already demonstrating its value proposition, MATERIAL is currently partnering with the United States Air Force to execute a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award for a $1.25 million project.
As part of this project, MATERIAL is collaborating with PDW and other leading U.S. defense developers to integrate conformal batteries directly into Class I unmanned aerial systems (UAS). By eliminating the "dead space" inherent in standard cylindrical cell arrays, MATERIAL’s technology is projected to dramatically increase pack-level energy densities by over 50% and reduce module weight by more than 22 percent for this study.
“MATERIAL’s ability to tailor battery geometry to our airframe would allow us to push endurance and payload limits further,” said Darsan Patel, Director of Product Design at PDW. “Conformal energy technology bridges the gap between rapid prototyping and field-ready performance.”
This partnership is an initial step towards edge manufacturing and domestic supply chain stability, in which MATERIAL would be able to deploy containerized units to produce mission-critical power supplies on demand, breaking reliance on fragile global supply chains.
Giving investors a reason to believe
“MATERIAL is creating an entirely new paradigm for the battery industry,” said Jordan Kretchmer, Senior Partner at Outlander VC. “Gabe and his team aren’t competing with gigafactories; they are rendering them obsolete for high-performance applications by enabling batteries to be designed around any product structure, instead of the structure having to be designed around the battery. This is the category-defining shift Outlander lives to back.”
Harpoon Ventures, utilizing its "Freedom Stack" thesis, identifies MATERIAL as a critical node for national resilience. “We invest in companies that give the U.S. and its allies an unfair technological advantage,” said Larsen Jensen, Founder and General Partner at Harpoon Ventures. “Current defense platforms are strangled by the geometry of commercial batteries. MATERIAL eliminates that constraint. Their ability to decouple energy storage from rigid form factors is a game-changer for our national industrial base. This is what manufacturing sovereignty looks like.”
Unlimited power, unlimited commercial possibility
On the commercial side, MATERIAL is working with consumer electronics partners on next-generation products. Additional pilots are underway across mobility, robotics, and wearables.
About Material Hybrid Manufacturing Inc.
Material Hybrid Manufacturing Inc. is rewriting the rules of energy storage. Its core technology, HYBRID3D™, is a chemistry-agnostic platform that 3D prints full-stack batteries in custom geometries. By merging the precision of semiconductor manufacturing with the flexibility of additive techniques, MATERIAL enables the creation of conformal batteries that fit seamlessly into the structure of any device. Headquartered in Miami, FL, MATERIAL is teaching the world how to manufacture autonomy.
For more information, visit www.material.inc.
From left: Founders Miles Dotson, Gabe Elias and Christopher Reyes, PhD
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 13, 2026--
Kincell Bio, a leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) in cell therapy, today announced the promotion of three accomplished executives to strengthen its leadership team and advance its mission of delivering life-changing therapies to patients worldwide.
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Bruce Thompson, PhD, has been promoted to President and Chief Technology Officer, driving technology strategy and innovation to provide technical solutions for clients. As Kincell’s founding CEO, he established the company’s technical and operational foundation. His prior leadership roles include VP of Process Sciences at Lyell Immunopharma, technical and operational leadership positions at Resilience and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center where he led GMP manufacturing of cell and gene therapy products. Bruce holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Louisville and he brings over 25 years of experience in cell therapy development and manufacturing.
Melodie Bryce has been promoted to Chief Quality Officer. In this capacity, Melodie will lead the organization’s quality strategy, ensuring best-in class quality systems and robust regulatory compliance across all operations. Melodie has nearly three decades of experience in quality leadership, with deep expertise spanning cell therapy, antibody and aseptic production. Throughout her career, she has successfully designed and implemented comprehensive quality frameworks and led organizations through regulatory inspection readiness including for cell therapy commercial supply. Her professional background includes senior quality leadership roles at KBI Biopharma, Cognate BioServices, Matica Biotechnology and Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies. Melodie earned her B.S. from North Carolina Wesleyan University and is widely recognized for her disciplined, pragmatic, approach to quality excellence in highly regulated environments.
Matt Haines is being promoted to Chief Operations Officer, leading supply of cell therapy products to the clinic, operational excellence and manufacturing scalability . In addition, he will be responsible for driving Kincell Bio’s physical expansion planning through designing, building and maintaining compliant facilities including capacity for cell therapy innovators. Matt brings over 20 years of biotech industry experience, specializing in manufacturing sciences and operations at Biogen, Amgen and Merck. Before joining Kincell, he served as VP of Manufacturing Operations at Inceptor Bio, a cell therapy innovator, and Senior Director at AveXis/Novartis Gene Therapies, contributing to the approval and launch of a leading commercial gene therapy. Matt holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Drexel University.
These leaders played a pivotal role in making 2025 a transformational year for Kincell Bio by delivering on client programs through strengthening the organization with strategic talent acquisition and developing our capabilities at our RTP, NC and Gainesville, FL sites. Their understanding of the CMC and operational challenges that innovators face is key to building a strong relationship that results in trust, open communication, and successful partnerships.
“Bruce, Melodie, and Matt have demonstrated exceptional leadership and expertise, and their expanded roles further strengthen our ability to deliver innovative, high-quality solutions for our clients while accelerating access to transformative therapies for patients. Together with our highly skilled teams, we will continue to expand our clinical development and commercial supply infrastructure, accelerate technology transfer, and strengthen our commitment to delivering life-changing cell therapies efficiently and reliably,” said Larry Pitcher, Chief Executive Officer.
Kincell’s mission is to support innovators from early development through pivotal clinical stages and into commercial launch with tailored CMC development, manufacturing, and analytical services. The organization is also committed to advancing the field of cell therapy with tailored solutions that empower innovators to bring their therapies to market efficiently and effectively.
About Kincell Bio
Kincell Bio engineers cells into therapies. With manufacturing facilities located in Research Triangle Park, NC, and Gainesville, FL, Kincell Bio is a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with the mission to streamline CMC development, with expertise in analytical and process development and GMP manufacturing, testing and release from early clinical, to pivotal studies, and product launch. Kincell Bio is focused on supporting innovative companies developing immune cell therapies, including autologous and allogeneic CAR-T, TCRs, Tregs, and CAR-NK programs, as well as developing expertise in stem cell products and iPSCs. For more information, visit www.kincellbio.com, and follow us on LinkedIn.
Matt Haines is the Chief Operations Officer at Kincell Bio, where he leads the buildout and operation of Kincell’s manufacturing capabilities. Before joining Kincell, he served as Vice President, Manufacturing Operations, at Inceptor Bio, and as Senior Director of Manufacturing at AveXis/Novartis Gene Therapies, where he played a key role in the successful approval and launch of a commercial gene therapy, as well as in expanding their manufacturing network. In his 20+ years in the biotech industry, he has held various roles within manufacturing, engineering, manufacturing sciences, and quality at companies such as Biogen, Amgen, and Merck. Matt earned his BS in Chemical Engineering from Drexel University.
Melodie Bryce is the Chief Quality Officer at Kincell Bio. Over her 28 years in the biopharma industry, Melodie joined Kincell from KBI Biopharma where she led Quality work in both cell therapy and mAb production. As a Quality leader, she also brings experience in Manufacturing and Supply chain from Bayer/Talecris/Grifols. She has also implemented robust quality systems for Matica Biotechnology and Cognate Biotherapeutics as well as prepping the facilities for regulatory inspection readiness. Melodie earned her BS from North Carolina Wesleyan University.
Bruce Thompson, PhD is the President and Chief Technology Officer of Kincell Bio. Bruce brings more than 28 years of experience to his position as President and Chief Technology Officer. Bruce is the Founding CEO of Kincell where he built the technical and operations team and launched Kincell’s tech-savvy CDMO offerings in the marketplace. Prior to his role with Kincell, Bruce was Vice President and Technical Lead for the Cell Therapy Franchise at Resilience, Inc., where he helped to build the development and GMP manufacturing capabilities and served as a technical advisor. Bruce has over 18 years of CMC strategy, product development and cell therapy manufacturing experience. Bruce received his B.A. in Biology, an M.S. in Biochemistry from The Ohio State University and Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Louisville.
