About Us
Based on a fundamental scientific shift in materials science, Xtalic is the trusted advisor in breakthrough material solutions for market leaders with mission-critical problems. Our patented computational material design platform supercharges relatively benign and widely available materials to break through the most demanding requirements for durability, corrosion resistance, and temperature stability. Our customers turn to us when existing material solutions limit their ability to unlock the next level of product performance and features — while maintaining safety, price, and environmental goals.
We design new alloys and conduct commercial sampling in a state-of-the-art nanomaterial lab located thirty minutes outside of Boston in Marlborough, Massachusetts. Our highly-skilled global technical support staff and sales teams address our customer needs in real-time throughout locations across Shanghai, South China, and Singapore. Currently, we support more than forty five customer-owned or third-party mass production lines with our nanostructured metal alloys.
2005: Founded by MIT professor Chris Schuh
2006: Stable nanostructured nickel XTRONIC® is designed using computational models
2008: XTRONIC® is tailored for gold reduction across high-speed router and switch connectors
2009: LUNA® nanostructured silver alloys are designed to replace hard gold on connectors
2010: XTRONIC® enters production for 60% of the OEM enterprise server buildouts
2012: XTRONIC® solutions are engineered for durable smartphone charging connectors
2014: XTALIUM® nanostructured aluminum alloys are electroplated from ionic liquids
2015 – 2018: XTRONIC® is scaled to more than 50% of smartphone charging connectors
2019: LUNA® begins testing for EV high voltage powertrain and charging connectors
2020: Nanostructured alloys are designed to improve wireless charging efficiency and speed
2021: Nanostructured platinum alloys are designed to replace Rhodium
2022: LUNA® enters production for safe nickel free wearable components
Our vision is to provide a path to a higher-performing, lower-cost, and more sustainable future. The world increasingly needs products that can stand up to changing environmental conditions, last a very long time, and be produced at low cost — without relying on inputs that are dangerous, difficult to source, or rely on environmentally-damaging production methods
Our Team
Tom joined Xtalic as CEO in March 2008. Prior to joining Xtalic, he spent 10 years growing another successful MIT startup, Z Corporation, from early commercialization phase to market leadership in the 3D printing space. Tom served Z Corporation as president, CEO, and board member. He is a former airborne ranger and led reconnaissance teams while stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Tom holds a BA from Princeton University in Mathematics and an MBA with high distinction (Baker Scholar) from the Harvard Business School.
As CFO, Kristin is responsible for Xtalic’s accounting, finance, and human resources. She joined Xtalic in 2019 as Vice President of Finance and Treasurer and was promoted to CFO in 2021. Kristin has over 25 years of finance, strategy, and operations experience at technology and consumer goods companies leveraging her expertise to create financial transformation to improve performance and drive growth.
Before joining Xtalic, Kristin held senior leadership positions with premier companies from large multinational manufacturing to small private SAAS firms, including Velcro Companies, Motorola, and Building Engines. Kristin has a BS degree in Accountancy from Bentley University and an MBA from Clark University.
Christopher A. Schuh is the chief scientist at Xtalic Corporation, department head of materials science and engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Danae and Vasilios Salapatas Professor of Metallurgy. He holds a B.S. degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Ph.D. from Northwestern University, both in the fields of materials science and engineering. Prof. Schuh’s research is focused on structural metallurgy and seeks to control disorder in metallic microstructures to optimize their mechanical properties. Prof. Schuh is co-inventor of the Xtalic technology that permits control over grain size in nanocrystalline alloys and co-founded the company with Dr. Alan Lund in 2005.
Dr. Lund co-founded Xtalic Corporation with Prof. Christopher Schuh of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Under Dr. Lund’s leadership Xtalic Corporation licensed core technologies from MIT, transformed these technologies into industrial processes, formed critical early-stage customer relationships, raised over $6 million in angel and venture financing, and recruited experienced and accomplished professionals for its senior management and technical teams. Dr. Lund’s academic training was in metallurgy. He received degrees in materials science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (BS) and Northwestern University (PhD), and spent 3 years as a post-doctoral researcher at MIT.
Mike joined Xtalic in March 2011 as vice president of operations and is responsible for customer site support, technical service, and technology implementations. He has over 20 years of experience at emerging technology companies serving in research and development, engineering, and operations leadership roles. Prior to joining Xtalic, Mike held senior management positions at the laboratory automation company HighRes Biosolutions and at Z Corporation, where he helped grow the company from a start-up to a leader in the 3d printing industry. Mike began his career at the world-renowned Lockheed Martin “Skunk Works,” where he designed advanced aircraft, spacecraft, and marine systems. He holds BS degrees in Aerospace Engineering and in Life Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
John joined Xtalic in November 2007 to lead the commercialization of the Xtalic product lines and development of the electronics applications area. John has more than 20 years of experience in research and development and commercialization of industrial materials. Prior to joining Xtalic, he was the metallization manager for the newly formed photovoltaics business group within the Rohm and Haas, Electronic Materials business unit. From 1994 until 2007, he worked for Shipley Company/Rohm and Haas in its Electronic Materials division developing and commercializing products and processes in the metallization, surface finish, and photolithography areas. John holds a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Northeastern University.
Bob joined Xtalic in 2015 as vice president of research and development. He is responsible for seeking out and developing new product technologies and engaging with customers to solve challenging technical problems. He has over 20 years of experience in global research and development and product development roles. From 2007 to 2012, Bob led research and development at Tyco Electronics and from 2012 to 2014, he was the chief technology officer at TE Circuit Protection Business. Bob has a history of implementing new materials and process technologies in broad industries including consumer electronics, automotive, industrial, and communications. He holds a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Temple University and a Ph.D. in Materials Engineering and Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
With over 20 years of experience in the specialty chemical industry, Eric is responsible for all of Xtalic’s commercial and sales activities. He has been with the company since January 2018. Previously, Eric helped to grow MacDermid Enthone into a market leader in the electronics, photovoltaic, LED, and semiconductor industries in Business Director positions for the company’s Electronics Materials Group. He started his career as a product specialist in Singapore before transferring to China to participate in the emerging electronics market. Eric has a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from the University Technology of Malaysia.
Board of Directors
Jeff McCarthy joined North Bridge Venture Partners in December 1998. Prior to joining North Bridge, he was the president and CEO of New Oak Communications, a leading provider of extranet access switches. Once New Oak was acquired by Bay Networks, a Nortel Networks line of business, Jeff served as vice president and general manager of the Access Division. Prior to New Oak, Jeff was the vice president of sales and business development at Cadia Networks, a developer of ATM concentrator products for the service provider marketplace. Prior to Cadia, Jeff spent 8 years at Wellfleet Communications/Bay Networks where he held various senior management positions, including vice president of carrier operations.
Stan Reiss, a general partner in the Waltham office, joined Matrix Partners in July 2000. Prior to Matrix, Stan was a manager in McKinsey & Company’s electronics practice, where he led teams that advised technology companies on strategy and operational issues. He also brings to Matrix experience that he gained designing chips with National Semiconductor’s Local Area Network Group. Stan holds a B.S.E.E. with distinction from Cornell University as well as S.M.E.E. and S.M.O.R. degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where his research focused on optical communication networks. He also holds an MBA with high distinction (Baker Scholar) from the Harvard Business School. Stan serves on the boards of Buzzwire, Carbon Design Systems, Hyper9, Intelliden, NoblePeak Vision and Xtalic.
Michael S. Foster, a graduate chemical engineer with an MBA in international finance retired from Rohm and Haas Company (acquired by Dow Chemical April 2009) as a corporate vice president and president of its $600 million Circuit Board Technologies Electronic Materials Business in 2001. Prior to his retirement, Mr. Foster held positions of increasing responsibility as financial director of Mexico and Central American subsidiaries, along with leadership positions in operations, marketing and mergers, and acquisitions. Presently, Mr. Foster teaches and guest lectures on business strategy and mergers and acquisitions at Bentley University and Babson College. Mr. Foster also mentors entrepreneurs as part of MIT’s Venture Mentoring Service and is on the board of “Design that Matters,” a not-for-profit social enterprise venture based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as Xtalic.
Pat has had over 30 years of experience helping to guide and scale businesses to success, focusing on building highly differentiated and disruptive value propositions to aggressively capitalize on emerging market opportunities. Pat previously served as president and CEO of GlassHouse Technologies, senior vice president and CFO for Netezza, where he led Netezza’s 2007 initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange and was instrumental in negotiating the sale of Netezza to IBM for $1.9 billion in November 2010. Prior to Netezza, Pat was senior vice president and CFO of Silknet Software, where he took the company public on NASDAQ before orchestrating its sale to Kana (NASDAQ: KANA) for $4.2 billion, a leading provider of enterprise customer support and communications applications. He currently sits on the boards of KIVA Systems, an innovative material handling and warehouse automation provider, and Xtalic Corporation. Pat is also on the executive committee of the Boston College Technology Council. He received his B.S. from Boston College and an MBA from the Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College.
Our Investors
Since its inception in 1977, Matrix Partners has had the privilege to partner with hundreds of innovators and have been fortunate to play an active role in the development of many successful businesses. Fifty have gone on to initial public offerings and 75 have gone on to profitable M&A events. The firm consistently ranks in the top five venture firms in terms of returns to its investors. Matrix Partners operates in the United States, India, and China across multiple sectors and stages.
North Bridge invests in exceptional people whose ideas have the potential to disrupt the way we live and work. They provide seed-to-growth financing to help transform those ideas into companies and those companies into market leaders.
