From Fund Partnership to Co-Investment: Heraeus Backs CSMH
An industrial LP and a portfolio company found strategic overlap in advanced diamond materials.
Connecting expertise with industrial interest
In April 2024, Heraeus announced an investment in CSMH, a CMVC portfolio company developing advanced semiconductor materials. Heraeus was also a CMVC limited partner.
The investment demonstrated a practical benefit of the relationship: an industrial company could explore a technology opportunity within a portfolio that overlapped with its strategic interests.
From an earlier investment to a strategic partner
CMVC had invested in CSMH’s pre-A round in 2022. As Heraeus examined synthetic diamond and related semiconductor opportunities, CMVC supported the advisory, diligence and selection process. Heraeus joined the subsequent pre-A+ round.
CSMH’s capabilities included growing synthetic diamond wafers and producing aluminum nitride templates. Its expertise attracted Heraeus’ interest in advanced materials for electronics.
Why diamond materials matter
In the accompanying interview, Heraeus’ Kathrin Wissel-Stoll described the potential of diamond’s thermal properties for demanding electronics applications. The opportunity connects a specialized material capability with an industrial partner’s knowledge of applications and access to markets.
Material production capability, application qualification and commercial deployment are separate stages. The investment reflects interest in that development path; it does not mean every possible application was already in production.
The value of the fund relationship
CMVC’s role was to help connect an earlier portfolio investment with a relevant industrial investor. It is an example of how scientific judgment and industrial relationships can work together across successive stages of a company’s development.
Read why Heraeus backed the technology—and its view of CMVC’s contribution ↗