Vitriflex

About Vitriflex

Vitriflex, founded in 2010 by David R. Parker and headquartered in San Jose, California, specialized in the development of high-performance ultra-barrier films for the flexible electronics market. The company ceased operations and is now considered deadpooled. Throughout its operational years, Vitriflex secured a total of $20.6 million in funding over seven rounds from notable institutional investors including Henkel, Kuraray, SABIC, and DNX Ventures. Its final funding was a Series C round on June 3, 2015.

The core of Vitriflex's business was the manufacturing of flexible, transparent ultra-barriers designed to provide cost-effective protection from moisture and oxygen for electronic components. This technology was positioned as a glass-replacement solution, enabling the production of thin, lightweight, shatterproof, and flexible devices. The company's proprietary technology involved a unique thin-film stack architecture and a mixed-oxide material set, which could be manufactured using a novel roll-to-roll vacuum deposition system. This process allowed for the production of films with tailored water vapor transmission rates and high optical transmittance.

Vitriflex targeted manufacturers in several next-generation electronics sectors. Its products were designed for application in flexible solar modules, OLED and LCD displays, OLED lighting, and quantum dot films. The business model focused on supplying these advanced barrier films, produced via a cost-effective roll-to-roll manufacturing process, directly to companies developing flexible electronic devices. Key strategic partnerships were formed to accelerate development and production scale-up, including alliances with Kuraray and a co-development program with Henkel, which also became a lead investor.