Half-coated lens, 20 minutes at −20 °C and 30% RH. The coated side stays clear.
University of MichiganSpinout from a decade of bio-inspired materials research
DARPATwo funded research programs
U.S. ArmyArctic field testing in Alaska
European naval shipbuilderSix-month in-service marine trial
400+ min
fog- and frost-free at −25 °C. Permanent, not a soap film.
6 MOS
Six months submerged on a European naval shipbuilder's USV. Beat the state-of-the-art copper incumbent.
2.5×
the insulating performance of the best commercial benchmark.
The problem
Forever chemicals are being banned.
PFASForever chemicals in coatings, textiles and films.Marine biocidesCopper and toxic antifouling leaching into harbours.CFCs & HFCsRefrigerants and blowing agents on the way out.Toxic de-icersCorrosive, harmful, and increasingly restricted.
EU · REACH
ECHA's universal PFAS restriction, proposed by five member states, has cleared its risk committee and is moving toward a Commission decision.
U.S. · EPA
Under TSCA, manufacturers and importers of PFAS-containing products must report to EPA, with the submission window opening by January 2027.
Marine biocides
Antifouling paint is a regulated biocide in the EU and U.S., and Washington State already restricts copper hull paint on recreational boats.
Global bans create a market hole. We create the key that unlocks it.
The discovery
Nature already outperforms. We made it industrial strength.
Wood frog · Arctic beetle · Salamander
01
Nature's molecules work
Wood frogs, arctic beetles and salamanders survive what 20th-century materials
cannot. Their defense molecules are the answer, and most of the actives are GRAS.
02
But they don't last
Animals regenerate their defense molecules continuously. Industrial surfaces cannot.
That is why nobody had done it, and it is the breakthrough.
03
We build industrial shields
The Aegis platform chemistry locks these actives into the polymer matrix itself
instead of sitting on top of it. The molecule becomes part of the material, so it
survives handling, cleaning and weather.
Our coating is stronger than what it's applied to.
Apply Aegis-Clear to polycarbonate and the coated surface outperforms the bare surface.
Abrasion resistance comparable to aluminum.
Taber abrasion · ASTM D4060-19 & F3300-18 · CS-7 wheel at 550 g on polycarbonate
The platform
One lab. Three shields.
A library of bio-inspired molecules creates a shield against whatever nature throws at
a surface: fouling, fog, frost and cold.
AEGIS-BIOCOPPER
Aegis-Bio
Nothing grows on it.
Metal-free, PFAS-free antifouling for hulls, nets and everything that sits still.
6 MOS
submerged on a European naval shipbuilder’s USV. Beat the state-of-the-art copper incumbent.
Next from the library: more to come. Delivered as textiles, liquids, sprays, gels and
laminates.
The discovery engine
We built the robots that made the discoveries.
The bottleneck
~10
formulations a week, tested by hand. Years per product. Every candidate cooled, frozen and pulled off a surface one at a time.
The machines
5,000+
formulations screened a week by our robotic discovery engine.
01
Start with what nature already solved
Frogs, fish and insects survive freezing. We built a bio-inspired library of ice-modulating molecules (amino acids, proteins, sugars, polymers, gels and surfaces) and screen it for the ones that control ice.
02
Robot 1Does it stop ice from forming?
A liquid-handling robot doses library molecules into 96-well cold plates in three-component mixtures and detects freezing optically, well by well. The result is a map of which combinations hold off ice longest.
96-well cold plate−10 °C−55 °CFreezing temperature of every mixture
03
Robot 2Does ice let go?
A pick-and-place robot casts ice on arrays of coated samples, then pushes or pulls it off and records the force for every one: 72 samples a run. This is the test that decides whether a surface sheds ice.
Hits from both robots go straight into formulation, so the chemistry is picked on measured performance, not guesswork.
Anti-icing
De-icing
Ice-shedding
Ice-inducing
How we partner
We formulate the chemistry and license the brand. Partners ship the product.
AegisCoat
Formulate · Brand · Certify
We invent the chemistry, stand behind the performance claims and certify every product that carries the Aegis name.
→
OEM partners
Design · Apply · Scale
You build it into your product, apply it on your own lines (spray, dip, roll, cast or dose at the paint plant) and take it to market under your own brand, with Aegis inside.
→
End markets
Defense · Industrial · Consumer
Hulls, goggles, gloves, heat pumps: anywhere ice, fog, fouling or cold decides how long a product lasts.
Why an ingredient brand
Your brand stays in front of your customer. Ours sits inside as the mark of proven performance, the way Gore-Tex does for outerwear.
Why every product is certified
A performance claim only means something if it is earned the same way every time. Nothing carries the Aegis name until it passes our protocols.
Why we never white label
Our name is a promise. Remove it and the claim loses its proof, for you and for every other partner. The chemistry ships as Aegis.
Operators, brands, builders and OEMs: bring us the conditions that break your product today. We’ll bring materials built to survive them.
AEGIS-BIOCOPPER Aegis-Bio 
UNCOATEDFrosted overAEGIS-CLEARStays clear Aegis-Clear 
ARMY-ISSUED GLOVE−57.8 °F insideAEGIS-GEL LINER45.9 °F inside Aegis-Gel 
96-well cold plate 
Pick-and-place robot