NovoLINC Raises Major Funding to Scale Advanced Thermal Interface Materials for AI and Data Centers
NovoLINC, a Pittsburgh‑based startup developing advanced thermal interface materials for high‑performance computing and AI data centers, has secured a significant funding round to accelerate the commercialization and manufacturing scale‑up of its breakthrough thermal technology. The company’s proprietary nanostructured thermal interface materials (TIMs) are designed to address one of the most pressing challenges in modern computing: effectively managing heat as processors become ever more powerful and data centers shift from air‑based to liquid cooling systems.
Founded in 2024 as a spin‑out from Carnegie Mellon University by CEO Dr. Ning Li, Chief Science Officer Prof. Sheng Shen, and Chief Technology Officer Dr. Rui Cheng, NovoLINC leverages a unique materials system that achieves industry‑leading low thermal resistance. Its TIM products significantly outperform conventional materials, offering performance metrics that enable more efficient heat transfer between chips and cooling systems. This capability is critical for supporting multi‑kilowatt GPUs, CPUs, and specialized accelerators powering artificial intelligence workloads, where excess heat has become a barrier to performance and sustainability.
NovoLINC’s latest funding round was co‑led by Fathom Fund and TDK Ventures, demonstrating confidence from both traditional venture capital and strategic corporate investors in the company’s technology and market potential. The financing also attracted continued participation from existing backers Foothill Ventures and M Ventures, alongside early support from Carnegie Mellon University and new investment from Hitachi Ventures. Together, this investor group underscores broad belief in NovoLINC’s ability to transform thermal management for future computing systems.
The capital injection comes from an oversubscribed funding round that positions NovoLINC to expand its manufacturing capabilities, accelerate research and development, and broaden its strategic business development efforts to meet escalating industry demand. The funds will support scaling production of TIMs with consistent quality at higher throughput, enabling the company to serve a growing roster of customers including hyperscale operators, advanced AI chip manufacturers, AI server OEMs, and components suppliers in the cooling supply chain.
NovoLINC’s TIM technology stands out for its extremely low thermal resistance — measured at around 0.7 mm²·K/W — which represents more than ten times lower interface resistance compared to traditional materials. This performance jump not only improves heat dissipation efficiency but also accommodates dynamic warpage during chip operation, addressing reliability challenges in semiconductor packaging at very high power densities. As a result, NovoLINC’s solutions are increasingly seen as critical enablers for next‑generation liquid‑cooled systems that must handle intense thermal loads while reducing energy consumption.
Investors backing NovoLINC highlighted the strategic importance of the company’s innovation at a time when cooling can account for up to 40 % of a data center’s energy consumption. As cloud and AI infrastructure scales worldwide, the need for more efficient thermal solutions is becoming essential not only for performance but also for environmental sustainability. NovoLINC’s materials offer a pathway to reducing cooling energy demands and improving overall system efficiency, which can have a meaningful impact on data center operating costs and carbon footprints.
NovoLINC has already demonstrated commercial traction and industry validation by participating in key technology programs, including membership in the Open Compute Project Startup Member Program and inclusion in the NVIDIA Inception Program. The company was also honored as a top technology innovator by the Pittsburgh Technology Council, signaling local and national recognition of its contributions to next‑generation computing infrastructure.
The company’s founders bring a combination of deep academic expertise and practical industry experience. Dr. Ning Li has led the organization through its early commercialization efforts, guiding partnerships and customer engagements that are essential to scaling a hardware‑centric materials business. The scientific foundation for NovoLINC’s technology, built on nanostructured composites and continuous manufacturing potential, reflects a blending of advanced research and pragmatic engineering.
NovoLINC’s mission is to enable sustainable technology advancement across computing, automotive, aerospace, and power electronics markets, where effective thermal management remains a fundamental constraint on performance. By raising new capital from a diverse group of investors, the company aims to meet the escalating needs of high‑power computing environments and support broader adoption of liquid‑cooled architectures that will define the next era of AI and data center scaling.
As demand for high‑efficiency cooling solutions grows with expanding AI workloads and more powerful semiconductor architectures, NovoLINC’s expanded financial backing and technology roadmap place it at the forefront of efforts to redefine how heat is managed at the core of modern computing systems.
