Awexome Ray raises 7.5B KRW to scale EUV pellicle production
What's the deal? Awexome Ray, a Korean maker of carbon nanotube (CNT) membranes and fibre materials, has raised 7,500,000,000 KRW (roughly $5.3 million) in a Series B extension. The round drew strategic and financial backers alike, signalling industry confidence in its EUV pellicle technology.
Who's in? Photomask and EUV pellicle maker SS TECHDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s affiliate SS Investment and Wonik Investment PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → joined as strategic investors. Wonik and Hanwha Investment & SecuritiesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → invested via a co-GP defence fund, alongside RE Investment, L&S Venture CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, K-Net Investment Partners, Union Investment PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Ascendo VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
What's the endgame? The company is building a dedicated cleanroom production line in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province, to shift from R&D to commercial supply. The funds will stabilise membrane production, upgrade quality control, and support customer evaluations now under way.
EUV — extreme ultraviolet lithography — is used to make advanced chips. Pellicles protect circuit-pattern masks from contamination and must offer high EUV transmission and heat resistance. Awexome Ray uses CNTs to build thin, light, heat-resistant membranes seen as a next-generation pellicle candidate.
Who's steering it? The company has added senior talent to speed commercialisation. Lee Dong-wook, formerly leading new-materials commercialisation at LG ChemDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Ecopro BMDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, joined as chief product officer in February 2026 to head the pellicle division. Hong Sung-cheol of SS Investment, a Samsung ElectronicsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → veteran, joined as an outside director in March.
Why now? Awexome Ray is pairing private capital with government support. It won a 3,600,000,000 KRW R&D project under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups' deep-tech pellicle programme, and secured 600,000,000 KRW plus up to 20,000,000,000 KRW in tech guarantees via the Korea Technology Finance CorporationDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s Unicorn Bridge scheme.
The defence fund's involvement flagged potential uses beyond chips, extending CNT fibres and membranes into aerospace and defence applications.
Chief executive officer Kim Se-hoon called the raise "an important milestone" in the company's shift "from an R&D-centred company to an advanced-materials company capable of customer supply."
The company relocated its head office to Jeju's tech park in March 2026 and plans a technology-based special listing in 2028.
The signal: Korean materials startups are drawing fresh capital. AI chip IP firm ArtichronDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → won 4,000,000,000 KRW over three years through Scale-up TIPS, while defence RF module maker J Labs raised a 12,000,000,000 KRW Series B in a pre-IPO round. Awexome Ray's backing from a pellicle maker, chip suppliers, and financial investors marks industry validation of CNT-based pellicle technology.
Read more: Wowtale
Image credit: Onri Jay Benally
