AirMembrane

Positioned at the forefront of advanced materials science, AirMembrane Corporation is a Japanese firm dedicated to overcoming the production bottlenecks of high-quality, single-layer graphene. The company originated in July 2017 from research conducted at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), with Masataka Hasegawa serving as the current CEO. AirMembrane is tackling the challenge of industrial-scale graphene application by developing mass production technologies that significantly enhance both the quality and efficiency of graphene synthesis.

The core of AirMembrane's business is the synthesis, development, and sale of graphene sheets and other two-dimensional material products. The firm employs a high-throughput plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) method, which allows for a much faster growth rate compared to conventional techniques. Its business model revolves around supplying these advanced materials to companies in various sectors, including electronics, medical, environmental, safety, and information technology. Clients can purchase graphene sheets in various sizes (such as A4, 10x10cm, and 1x1cm) and on different substrates like PET, glass, and silicon. The company also offers consulting services for product development that utilizes graphene and other 2D materials.

AirMembrane's key offering is a high-quality, single-layer graphene film that possesses superior electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and flexibility. A significant feature is the ability to transfer these graphene films to a wide array of substrates, a task that has proven difficult for others in the industry. This capability opens up numerous applications, such as transparent conductive films, ultra-sensitive gas and liquid sensors, optical and magnetic sensors, touch panels, and heat spreaders. The company also produces specialized products like bilayer graphene TEM grids, which are ideal supports for Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) observations of nanoparticles and viruses due to their durability and the ability to form uniform ice layers for cryo-TEM. To fuel its growth, AirMembrane has successfully secured funding from several venture capital firms, including a seed round of 100 million yen in August 2024 and further investments in January and May 2025 from firms like Global Brain, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, and Tsukuba Exceed Fund. These funds are being used to enhance mass production technology, expand the team, and accelerate both domestic and international market expansion, with a particular focus on the U.S.

Keywords: graphene production, single-layer graphene, 2D materials, advanced materials, chemical vapor deposition, AIST spin-off, Masataka Hasegawa, transparent conductive films, graphene sensors, TEM grids, high-throughput synthesis, graphene substrate transfer, electronics materials, nanotechnology, carbon materials, flexible electronics, heat spreaders, venture capital funding, Japanese startup, material science, ultra-sensitive sensors