Cambium Raises $100 Million Series B for Advanced Materials Discovery
Cambium, a leader in advanced materials for defense, aerospace, and other high-performance industries, announced on Monday the closing of a $100 million Series B financing round led by 8VC, with additional support from MVP Ventures, Lockheed Martin Ventures, GSBackers, Veteran Ventures Capital, J17 Ventures, Vanderbilt University, Alumni Ventures, Gaingels, Inevitable Ventures, JACS Capital, Jackson Moses, and various individuals and family offices.
This investment will accelerate Cambium’s product development and manufacturing capabilities in the United States and Europe, enabling the company to better serve customers in aerospace, defense, energy, marine, motorsport, and related sectors.
The El Segundo, CA-based startup, founded in 2020, is redefining the discovery and scaling of advanced materials. By integrating artificial intelligence, chemical informatics, and high-performance computing, Cambium designs novel monomers and polymers significantly faster than conventional methods. The company manufactures, tests, and scales these materials internally using proprietary, aerospace-qualified infrastructure, streamlining development cycles.
Following its recent acquisition of SHD, Cambium now possesses one of the world’s largest aerospace and industrial qualified production capacities for prepreg, film, and adhesives, with facilities in the U.S., U.K., and Europe, each supported by robust supply chains. Cambium provides customers with rapid prototype and small-batch production, completed in days, and the ability to instantly scale operations across identical global manufacturing sites, ensuring reliable supply-chain management.
Cambium’s platform supports a range of material innovations, including advanced composites and optical protection systems. Recent commercial releases feature ultra-high-temperature polymers and carbon-carbon thermal protection systems for demanding applications in defense, aerospace, and energy. Notably, Cambium’s ApexShield 1000™ enhances the fabrication speed of carbon-carbon components for uses such as solid rocket motors (SRMs) and hypersonic glide bodies. Additional products currently in late-stage testing include machining-ready composite billets for SRMs and metal-to-composite adhesives for air and space vehicle structures, engineered for performance in both standard and extreme conditions. Future offerings under development include optical and directed energy protection solutions as well as high-temperature foams, all derived from a unified platform of polymer innovation and standardized manufacturing processes.
Cambium has active contracts with defense partners involved in key Programs of Record, supporting dual-use applications. As such, Cambium is establishing itself as a preferred partner in advanced materials for customers operating across land, sea, air, and space domains.
Regarding the recent financing round, Simon Waddington, Co-founder and CEO of Cambium, stated, “Our Series B funding validates Cambium’s approach to revitalizing critical materials manufacturing for the defense and industrial sectors. This capital allows us to further expand our distributed, secure manufacturing network throughout the U.S., U.K., and Europe, building a Western advanced-materials platform that meets the requirements of speed, scalability, and resilience demanded by our partners.”
Joe Lonsdale, Managing Partner at 8VC, remarked, “Frontier technologies necessitate frontier materials. Cambium was established in the United States to design and produce advanced materials for future needs. Their diversified product portfolio supports leading innovators in aerospace and defense, contributing to rapid and profitable growth. We are pleased to reaffirm our commitment to this essential company.”