Deep Blue Ventures (DBV), the deep tech venture capital fund managed by Deep Ocean Capital, and RoboIT, the National Technology Transfer Hub for robotics and industrial automation, created on the initiative of CDP Venture Capital and Pariter Partners, announce that they have completed a total investment of €1.65 million in K3RX, a tech company engaged in the development of high-performance components based on a new class of ultra-refractory materials for applications in the aerospace and defence sectors. This is a strategic investment that represents a step towards strengthening Italian industrial autonomy in a technological field that lies at the intersection of security, competitiveness and the innovative capacity of the production system.
Alongside the co-lead investors, Pariter Robotics and Pariter Partners are also participating in the round. The transaction is part of Deep Ocean Capital’s strategy to support enabling technologies that make it possible to develop cutting-edge solutions in the aerospace sector and in all the strategic industrial infrastructures that make up the Italian supply chain. With K3RX, Italy is making a concrete contribution to strengthening the European supply chain for advanced multi-sector materials, with a particular focus on aerospace applications, and is participating in the construction of a competitive industrial ecosystem in the most science- and technology-intensive sectors.
In space environments and defence contexts with high operational criticality, the need for components capable of withstanding extreme temperatures, significant mechanical stress and severe oxidative conditions represents one of the most complex technological challenges for industry. K3RX meets this need by developing components made from UHTCMC (ultra high temperature ceramics matrix composite), innovative materials capable of operating at temperatures of up to 2,700°C, while ensuring high structural stability, durability and reusability.
Compared to traditional materials used in these contexts, such as reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) or metals suitable for high temperatures such as tungsten, the solutions developed by K3RX offer overall superior performance at high temperatures in terms of resistance to mechanical stress, ablation and oxidation, making them particularly suitable for applications that require reliability and performance in extreme operating conditions.
The investment aims to accompany K3RX in its crucial transition to full industrial maturity, supporting the development of scalable and competitive production capacity. The capital invested will enable the company to expand its target market, extending the applications of UHTCMC technology and strengthening its presence in foreign markets, particularly in Europe and the United States.
At the same time, K3RX will be able to strengthen and streamline its supply chain, improving times and costs through new relationships with raw material suppliers and industrial partners, and optimising existing ones. The growth plan also includes strengthening the team with new hires in administration, technical engineering and production, alongside investments in processing equipment, with the aim of internalising strategic production processes and increasing industrial control.
“The development of materials capable of operating in extreme conditions is now one of the most strategic frontiers for European industrial competitiveness and technological security. With K3RX, we are investing in a technology that not only raises performance standards in the aerospace and defence sectors, but also helps to build a supply chain of advanced materials capable of transforming scientific research into concrete industrial infrastructure,” said Domenico Nesci, CEO of Deep Ocean Capital, in a statement. . “Our mission is to support companies that can become strategic enablers of new technological trajectories, strengthening European production autonomy and technological sovereignty in areas critical to the future.”
Italy has a tradition of excellence in materials science that too often remains confined to laboratories: K3RX is a virtuous example of the strategic value of technology transfer, especially in science-intensive sectors such as advanced materials for aerospace and defence applications, showing how cutting-edge academic expertise can be translated into internationally competitive industrial solutions. The UHTCMC materials developed by the company effectively meet critical needs in areas where performance and reliability are non-negotiable requirements. We support this company in its growth and industrialisation because we believe that strengthening national technological autonomy in strategic sectors is now an industrial priority for the country,” says Claudia Pingue, head of the Tech Transfer Fund at CDP Venture Capital.
“K3RX perfectly embodies RoboIT’s mission: to transform highly scientific research into industrial enterprise. Italy cannot afford strategic dependencies in advanced materials. Investing in K3RX means building autonomous industrial capabilities in a key technology for aerospace, defence and advanced robotics. As a National Technology Transfer Hub, RoboIT supports the transition of these skills from laboratories to industrial production, so that Italy can be not only a user but also a producer of the technologies that define global competition,” says Matteo Elli, RoboIT.
“The entry of RoboIT and Deep Ocean Capital represents a strategic step of great value for us. These two partners share our technological and industrial vision and bring expertise, relationships and capital that are essential for accelerating K3RX’s growth path,” added Giorgio Montanari, CEO of K3RX (pictured with the team). “This strengthening of the company’s ownership structure confirms the solidity of our project and allows us to tackle the next stages of development with even greater ambition, continuing to invest in innovation, industrialisation and international positioning, and continuing to push materials innovation beyond current limits.”
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