Ten-Nine Technologies to onboard engineering and management talent, develop prototypes, and build production facilities to supply a leading battery manufacturer – major funding provided by i2E Management Company, Inc., investing for growth in Oklahoma, as well as Oklahoma and Kansas angel investors.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 7, 2020, 09:00 US Central Time
Contact: Sarah Seagraves
Senior VP for Marketing
(405) 813-2403
sseagraves@i2E.org
TULSA – i2E Management Company, Inc. (iMCI) and Ten-Nine Technologies (http://ten-ninetech.com/) are pleased to announce the closure of $5 million in Series A financing for new research and development facilities as well as a manufacturing plant capable of tonnage battery material production. The new funds will also be used to build out Ten-Nine Technologies’ engineering, business development and managerial team and continue development of its innovative battery materials.
The iMCI-led investment in Ten-Nine Technologies includes $1.65 million from the Oklahoma Seed Capital Fund, as well as $500,000 from the Accelerate Oklahoma Fund and $350,000 from the Oklahoma Angel Fund. Oklahoma Seed Capital Fund, Accelerate Oklahoma Fund, and the Oklahoma Angel Fund are each managed by iMCI. Regional investors provided $2.5 million to close out the round.
Company CEO, Paige Johnson, a noted research chemist and nanotechnology inventor, founded Ten-Nine Technologies in 2014 to develop new materials for emerging economies. She describes the company’s mission as “changing the world from the nanoscale up by thinking differently about the electroactive materials that power it.” Johnson received the Battery Innovation Center (BIC) award for the development of hydrocarbon parity lithium battery technology in 2017.
Ten-Nine Technologies’ proprietary materials, manufacturing procedures and batteries are the subject of four issued patents and 15 additional national and international patent filings. With the addition of iMCI-led Series A funding, Ten-Nine Technologies emerges as one of Tulsa’s first economic engines of the future of energy. Nanomaterials from the line at Ten-Nine Technologies will soon extend the battery life of the things we rely on most.
“Batteries are a foundational technology of modern life, but have not kept pace with other innovations in sustainable energy and advanced electronics. New materials and new approaches are needed to power the electric future, and Ten-Nine is proud and excited to be a part of that, especially in our home state of Oklahoma.”
The addition of Series A funding to Ten-Nine’s balance sheet underscores the commitment of Oklahomans and other regional investors to the future, even in a time of economic uncertainty. This new capital will accelerate manufacturing, market entry and adoption of Ten-Nine Technologies’ innovative battery materials as well as provide new jobs and opportunities for Oklahomans.
About i2E and iMCI
i2E Management Company, Inc. (iMCI) is a private, for profit investment and fund management company operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of i2E, Inc. iMCI currently manages $81 million across five venture funds. iMCI makes investment decisions and provides investment management as General Partner and/or Managing Member of a growing number of privately managed venture capital funds. Since 2007, iMCI and i2E, Inc. have invested more than $50 million into 62 companies representing seed-stage to early-stage venture capital investments across many different industries including the life sciences and software/IT.
About Ten-Nine Tech
Ten-Nine Technologies is dedicated to developing new materials for new economies. Venture-backed and based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, it is led by founder and inventor Paige Johnson. In 2017, Ten-Nine Technologies announced a world-first achievement of fossil-fuel level energy density in a battery material.
