# 3M New Ventures

> 3M New Ventures is a VC fund in Saint Paul backing Manufacturing and Software. See 40 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Saint Paul, United States
- Total investments: 40
- Last investment: Jan 2026
- Lead investor: 28%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/3m/
- Website: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/about-3m/3m-ventures/

3M New Ventures is a VC fund in Saint Paul focused on Manufacturing and Software. 3M New Ventures was created to strengthen 3M's position at the leading edge of global innovation by complementing 3M's holistic innovation strategy with a focus on disruptive, early stage innovations outside of the company's existing portfolio. 3M New Ventures identifies and invests in the most promising new-to-3M technologies,services and business models with long term strategic relevance to 3M.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for 3M New Ventures. Shizune tracks 16 team members at 3M New Ventures. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/3m-new-ventures?utm_source=investor_profile

## Round sizes

| Stage | Round size |
| --- | --- |
| Series A | $1.5M–$20M |
| Series B | $3M–$175M |
| Series C | $8.9M–$65M |

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Manufacturing | 9 | 23% |
| Software | 7 | 18% |
| Hardware | 5 | 13% |
| Electronics | 5 | 13% |
| Medical Device | 5 | 13% |

68 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Series B | 10 | 25% |
| Series A | 9 | 23% |
| Series C | 5 | 13% |
| Funding Round | 5 | 13% |
| Seed | 4 | 10% |

8 stages tracked in total.

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 20 | 50% |
| Germany | 3 | 8% |
| Canada | 2 | 5% |
| Israel | 2 | 5% |
| Finland | 2 | 5% |

7 countries tracked in total.

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Christopher D. Holmes | Senior Vice President | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/christopher-d-holmes |
| David G. Werpy | Vice President and Chief Audit Executive | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/david-g-werpy |
| Frederick J. Palensky | Executive Vice President, Research and Development and Chief Technology Officer | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/frederick-j-palensky |
| Ian F. Hardgrove | Senior Vice President | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ian-f-hardgrove |
| James M. Zappa | Vice President, Associate General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/james-m-zappa |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| JetZero | JetZero is an aerospace company that designs and manufactures zero-emissions jet aircraft.Airlines have long sought more fuel-efficient aircraft and now that climate change is a worldwide problem, planes with minimal carbon emissions, if not zero, are unavoidable. Their objective is to hasten such shift. JetZero is actively collaborating withNASA on sustainable aircraft ideas that will soon make zero-emission flight a reality.JetZero is headquartered in Long Beach, California and was founded in 2020. | $175M | Series B | Jan 13, 2026 |  |
| Voltiris | Voltiris develops solar modules for greenhouses. The company uses spectral filtering technology to allow essential light for plant growth to pass through while converting unused light into renewable energy. This dual-use approach enables greenhouse owners to generate electricity without compromising crop yield, promoting sustainability and energyindependence. | $5.3M | Seed | Jan 28, 2025 |  |
| Ayar Labs | Ayar Labs develops a monolithic in-package optical I/O (MIPO) solution for applications that require high bandwidth, low latency, and power-efficient short-reach interconnects.The company disrupts the traditional performance, cost, and efficiency curves of the semiconductor and computing industries by driving improvement in interconnectbandwidth density at lower power. Its patented approach uses industry-standard cost-effective silicon processing techniques to develop high speed, high density, low power optical-based interconnect “chiplets” and lasers to replace traditional electrical-based I/O. Ayar’s flagship product is a chip called TeraPhy that implements its optical technology on compact silicon die. The chip can be integrated directly into a central processing unit, graphics card, or another processor to give it optical data transmission capabilities.The Emeryville, California-headquartered company was established in 2015 by Alex Wright-Gladstein, Vladimir Stojanovic, Chen Sun, and Mark Wade. | $155M | Series D | Dec 11, 2024 |  |
| TactoTek | TactoTek develops and licenses injection-molded structural electronics (IMSE®) technologies. Automotive, aviation, connected home, industrial control, and medical brands use TactoTek innovations to create next-generation user experiences that are compelling, differentiated, and more sustainable. Designers use TactoTek IP to integrate circuits andcomponents directly into plastic parts, transforming conventional structures into smart interactive surfaces. TactoTek licenses its intellectual property, including over 280 patents and critical know-how developed over a decade of intensive R&D and quality testing, to global manufacturers who use reliable, standardized manufacturing processes to produce curved-shape and conformal electronics | $60M | Venture - Series Unknown | Nov 19, 2024 |  |
| GrayMatter Robotics | GrayMatter Robotics is a company that solves the most difficult surface treatment and finishing challenges faced by high-mix, high-variability manufacturers. They offer advanced robotics and proprietary AI technologies, designed into smart robotic cells that assist humans in tedious and ergonomically challenging tasks. | $45M | Series B | Jun 20, 2024 |  |
| Bead Origin | Bead Origin is a startup company affiliated with a faculty that specializes in the production of Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) abrasives utilized in semiconductor manufacturing processes. Its primary technologies encompass source technology for particle production, control technology for size, shape, and surface charge, as well as evaluationtechnology. The company offers services including prompt supply and technical assistance for semiconductor manufacturing processes, the provision of tailored particles, and collaborative development of distinctive particles. | $1.5M | Series A | May 07, 2024 |  |
| Svante | Svante is a leading carbon capture and removal solutions provider specializing in the development and manufacturing of novel solid sorbents, structured adsorbent filters, and rotary contactor machines for post-combustion industrial carbon capture and direct air capture. The company’s leading-edge solid sorbent-based technology is environmentallyresponsible, and scalable, and can be applied to heavy industries with hard-to-avoid emissions, including cement, hydrogen, oil & gas, steel, and more. Svante has developed partnerships across the global CCUS value chain to scale the industry and make it easy for customers to execute source-to-sink carbon capture and removal projects. | $318M | Series E | Dec 15, 2022 |  |
| Metalenz | Metalenz develops novel optical elements that exploit structured Huygens' surfaces (metamaterial structures) for controlling wavefronts, polarization, and other properties of light. It provides ultra-thin planar optics for high-resolution full-color imaging and making the lenses used by mobile phones, computers, and other electronic devicessmaller that enable businesses using the optical lenses to get miniaturized, lighter alternatives to established lenses. | $30M | Series B | Oct 05, 2022 |  |
| Flair | Flair makes smart vents and wireless thermostats and advanced software for residential heating and cooling. The company builds smart hardware and software for HVAC controls focused on efficiency, comfort, electrification, and smart grid integration. The company's products are sold through multiple channels including direct to consumer, HVACdistribution, and utilities. | $7.6M | Series A | Sep 07, 2022 |  |
| GrayMatter Robotics | GrayMatter Robotics is a company that solves the most difficult surface treatment and finishing challenges faced by high-mix, high-variability manufacturers. They offer advanced robotics and proprietary AI technologies, designed into smart robotic cells that assist humans in tedious and ergonomically challenging tasks. | $20M | Series A | Aug 16, 2022 |  |

10 of 40 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [B Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/b-capital-group) — VC Fund, 5 deals together
- [Calibrate Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/calibrate-ventures) — VC Fund, 4 deals together
- [OCA Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/oca-ventures) — VC Fund, 4 deals together
- [Safeguard Scientifics](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/safeguard-scientifics) — VC Fund, 4 deals together
- [Bow Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/bow-capital) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [Detroit Venture Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/detroit-venture-partners) — VC Fund, 3 deals together

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## FAQ

### What does 3M New Ventures invest in?

3M New Ventures invests primarily in Manufacturing, Software and Hardware startups, most often at Series B and Series A stage. Most of the 40 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### What is 3M New Ventures's check size?

3M New Ventures typically joins rounds of $1.5M–$20M at Series A, $3M–$175M at Series B and $8.9M–$65M at Series C. These ranges are 10th–90th percentile round sizes calculated from confirmed public funding rounds, so they are a realistic guide to the rounds 3M New Ventures participates in.

### How do I contact 3M New Ventures?

Public channels for 3M New Ventures include LinkedIn and the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### Who are the partners at 3M New Ventures?

The team at 3M New Ventures includes Christopher D. Holmes (Senior Vice President), David G. Werpy (Vice President and Chief Audit Executive) and Frederick J. Palensky (Executive Vice President, Research and Development and Chief Technology Officer), among 16 team members tracked by Shizune. The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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