Illini Angels Announces First Investment to Natrion

Illini Angels Announces First Investment to Natrion

The University of Illinois’ new angel group, Illini Angels, has selected EnterpriseWorks startup Natrion for their first investment.

Illini Angels, launched in February 2023, is managed by Research Park’s Illinois Ventures. The angel network supports early-stage companies that have founders or leadership who are connected to the U of I System family – faculty, alumni, or students from any of the three universities, as well as companies that license university technology with seed funding, advice, and mentorship.

“Natrion is an exceptionally promising company and Alex is a very impressive founder,” Illinois Ventures Senior Director Tom Parkinson said.

Natrion, a solid-state EV battery pioneer, develops components for automotive and battery manufacturers that can be rapidly utilized to deploy safe, high-performance all-solid-state rechargeable batteries. Eliminating liquid-state components, these batteries improve electric vehicle fire safety, driving range, charge time, and overall lifespan.

“Solid-state battery technology will be a critical enabler of the energy transition, and Natrion provides a compelling solution in the space, strong early traction with marquee customers and a commercially oriented leadership team with a bold vision for the company’s growth.” said Manas Gosavi, an Illini Angels founding member and venture capital investor with Mubadala Capital.

Natrion was founded in 2018 by Alex Kosyakov, a University of Illinois undergraduate engineering student. They have R&D facilities in Champaign, including a semi-automated pouch cell production line for the manufacturing of prototype multi-layer pouch cells as would be used in portable electronics or electric vehicles.