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Irresistible Materials

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A materials technology company

Birmingham, United KingdomFounded 2010Semiconductors
Valuation $50–100M Last recorded · 2025
Headcount <100 Current team size
Total funding $10–50M Disclosed equity funding
Unlock exact values This page shows ranges. Dealroom has the exact numbers for Irresistible Materials and the history behind them.

About Irresistible Materials

Irresistible Materials, established in 2010 as a spin-out from the University of Birmingham, operates within the advanced materials sector, specifically focusing on semiconductor manufacturing. The company was co-founded by Professor Jon Preece, who holds the position of Chair of Nanoscale Chemistry at the University of Birmingham, bringing deep academic and research expertise to the venture. His extensive background in chemistry and nanoscience directly informs the company's core technological development.

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The firm's primary business involves the development and licensing of novel photoresist materials essential for Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, a critical process in fabricating next-generation microchips. Irresistible Materials serves major semiconductor manufacturers and equipment suppliers who are pushing the boundaries of Moore's Law, enabling the production of smaller, faster, and more powerful electronic components. Its business model centers on licensing its intellectual property (IP) to these large-scale industrial partners, who then integrate the advanced photoresist technology into their own manufacturing workflows. This IP-licensing approach allows the company to focus on research and development while leveraging the manufacturing and distribution capabilities of established industry players.

The core offering is a new class of photoresists designed to enhance the resolution, sensitivity, and line-edge roughness of patterns created during EUV lithography. This technology addresses a significant bottleneck in the semiconductor industry, as conventional photoresists struggle to meet the stringent requirements of sub-10 nanometer chip production. By enabling finer and more precise patterning, Irresistible Materials' products allow for the creation of more densely packed and efficient integrated circuits, directly impacting the performance of future electronic devices. A key achievement for the company was securing a licensing agreement with a major global chemical company, which served as a strong validation of its technology and commercial potential.

Source: Dealroom company data

At a glance

Status
Operational
Founded
2010
Headquarters
Birmingham, United Kingdom
Employees
7
Open positions
2
Dealroom signal
83.6/100
Sector
Semiconductors, Testing, Chips, Lithography, Spinout, Semiconductor Designers and Manufacturers, Semiconductor Engineering Tools, Semiconductor Materials, Hard Tech, NIF defense security and resilience, NIF Supply Chain Resilience
Technology
Hardware, Deep Tech
Business model
Manufacturing
Client focus
b2b

Funding history

5 recorded events

Company financing events and reported valuations.

Deal typeDateAmountValuationInvestorsSource
EARLY VC✓Equity / VC Nov 2025 $16M $63M Undisclosed ↗
GRANT✓Other financing Oct 2020 $224K — Undisclosed —
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Growth signals

Irresistible Materials website traffic

Latest recorded traffic for Irresistible Materials is 570 monthly website visits, up 375% over the last three months. Irresistible Materials's team grew 40% over the past year.

Latest monthly visits570 3-month web change+375% 1-year team growth+40%
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Similar companies

Closest operating peers by Dealroom taxonomy

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Investments and acquisitions

Capital deployed

Recent portfolio relationships for companies that also act as investors or acquirers.

Investors

2 investors on the cap table

From Dealroom's funding and investor records, grouped by the round each investor first entered.

Seed1 investor entered at this stage

  • Mercia Asset Management

Other known investors1 additional known investor

  • University of Birmingham
Team profiled 4 named & role-tagged
Founders Hidden — book a demo/100 quality score
Key operators 2 quality Hidden — book a demo/100
Potential founders Hidden — book a demo likely future founders
Startup mafia Hidden — book a demo alumni-founded startups
Talent movements Hidden — book a demo in · Hidden — book a demo out past 12 months

Source: Dealroom Talent Intelligence.

Global footprint

Workforce and web traffic by country
Workforce by country
1 countries with
team presence
🇬🇧 United Kingdom100%
1 country shown

Market sentiment

Posts on X, past 7 days

An AI-synthesised read of the highest-engagement posts about Irresistible Materials on X, ranked by likes and reposts, corporate channels excluded.

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Source: X recent search ranked by engagement (likes + retweets) · Synthesis by Claude · Cached for 1 hour

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