EIC Rose Rock accelerates material discovery with Exum Instruments investment

(WO) – EIC Rose Rock, an early-stage VC fund focused on energy technologies, announced its direct investment into Exum Instruments, a Denver-based scientific instrumentation company with innovative technology that significantly shortens development and discovery to provide full characterization of solid materials and chemicals in minutes. Exum’s first instrument, the Massbox, is a mobile, desktop-sized mass spectrometer that delivers lab-quality analysis beyond the traditional laboratory.

EIC Rose Rock led a $6 million Series A financing with additional Oklahoma-based investors joining the round including Advantage Capital, 46 Ventures, Boyd Street Ventures, Alchemy Capital, and Cortado Ventures. The funds will be used to expand Exum’s manufacturing capacity in Tulsa, Oklahoma to serve growing demand for Massbox.

Massbox’s quasi-non-destructive analysis provides 35-60% lower operating costs compared to traditional methods and produces results in hours rather than days, which is common with conventional laboratory-based instruments. The technology offers significant advantages to the energy industry, including the oil and gas sector.

“In addition to 3D printing demand, we see Massbox’s potential to enhance productivity in traditional energy businesses as well as drive innovation in batteries and other alternative energy sources,” said David Clouse, Managing Director of the EIC Rose Rock fund.

Jeff Williams, Exum’s CEO, stated, “By democratizing access to high-sensitivity chemical data, Massbox brings mass spectrometry into industries’ decision-making processes. With EIC Rose Rock’s expertise supporting us, we anticipate addressing the entire supply chain—from upstream extraction activities to failure analysis of final products, and everything in between.”