KIT-founded valve actuator manufacturer Memetis has received capital from the university and HTGF to help expand development and production.

Memetis, a Germany-based valve actuator manufacturer spun out from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, secured an initial seven-figure dollar sum on Tuesday from the university, public-private partnership High-Tech Gründerfonds and unspecified VC investors.
KIT Gründerschmiede, the university’s innovation and entrepreneurship initiative, was mentioned in the press release though not explicitly as an investor.
Founded in 2017, Memetis manufactures miniature valve actuators which are used to open and close valves in various machines and systems, with the company initially targeting biotech and medical device applications.
Memetis makes its actuators from a shape memory alloy that automatically forms a given structure once heated, a quality which facilitates better valve switching than traditional wire-dependent models. The capital will enable it to expand development and production in a bid to secure market adoption of the technology.
Memetis was co-founded by three KIT research scientists and assistants  – Marcel Gültig, Christof Megnin and Hinnerk Oßmer, along with Christoph Wessendorf, who acts as managing director. Megnin and Gültig are no longer with the university.