The University of Houston's Technology Bridge is proud to welcome Newfound Materials as its newest tenant.
Newfound Materials is a materials origination company that uses physics-driven artificial intelligence to design new inorganic materials and the processes needed to manufacture them. Founded in 2024, the company specializes in transforming materials synthesis from an inherited craft into an engineering discipline, helping bridge the gap between materials that AI can predict and those that can be produced at commercial scale.
“We are excited to welcome Newfound Materials to the UH Technology Bridge and our growing innovation ecosystem. Their combination of artificial intelligence, advanced materials research, and a strong focus on translating scientific discovery into commercially viable solutions represents exactly the type of innovation we want to foster here. We look forward to supporting their growth and seeing the collaborations, technologies, and opportunities that emerge as they become part of the Tech Bridge community,” said Darayle Canada, Program Director, Startup Operations.
Leveraging a proprietary platform that combines reaction-network AI, synthesis simulation, and a growing materials database, Newfound Materials identifies and optimizes new pathways for manufacturing advanced materials. The company has already demonstrated significant results, including a novel patent-pending synthesis route for bismuth vanadate, a leading yellow pigment and photocatalyst, that is less expensive than conventional methods and significantly lowers processing energy needs. Their results were published with Colorado State University researchers in the journal Inorganic Chemistry in September 2026.
Newfound Materials focuses on identifying replacement materials and processes for critical materials used in energy and technology. The company is a synthesis and commercialization partner with the University of Houston on its recently awarded $2.8M, 3-year ARPA-E grant to develop new permanent magnets, led by Professor Jakoah Brgoch (Department of Chemistry). Newfound currently has paid engagements with one of the world's largest chemical manufacturers and a U.S. solid-state battery company, and is pursuing opportunities across inorganic materials manufacturing markets worth over $250 billion a year. Their long-term business model centers on originating new materials and commercializing them through licensing and contract manufacturing with partners.
Headquartered in Houston, Newfound Materials is led by founder and CEO Dr. Matthew J. McDermott, who earned his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and completed postdoctoral research at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where he helped build A-Lab, an autonomous laboratory that synthesizes AI-predicted materials without human intervention. McDermott is also a 2024 fellow of Activate, a national fellowship for scientists founding hard-tech companies, based in its Houston cohort.
“UH researchers have been generous collaborators since before we had a lab of our own, and we’re glad to be joining them on campus at the Tech Bridge. Being here shortens the loop between a route our models design and a material we can put in a customer's hands”, said founder Matthew McDermott.
Newfound Materials plans to utilize the laboratory facilities at Technology Bridge to advance materials synthesis research and scale-up efforts. It will continue to engage with UH faculty, core facilities and student interns as its operations grow.
The addition of Newfound Materials underscores Technology Bridge's continued growth and reputation as a preferred destination for startups.