Forge Nano Goes Public in $1.2B Deal to Fortify U.S. AI and Defense Supply Chains

DENVER and NEW YORK, April 21, 2026 – In a significant move to bolster America's domestic technology manufacturing, advanced materials company Forge Nano announced today it will become a publicly traded company on NASDAQ through a merger with Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners II Co. The transaction values Forge Nano at approximately $1.2 billion and is poised to inject hundreds of millions of dollars into scaling its proprietary nanocoating technology, a critical enabler for next-generation artificial intelligence chips and defense-grade batteries.

The Denver-based company, which will trade under the ticker symbol “NANO,” stands at the center of a national push to reduce reliance on foreign supply chains for essential technologies. Its public listing is not just a financial milestone but a strategic one, positioning it as a cornerstone of U.S. efforts to achieve technological sovereignty in an increasingly competitive global landscape.

A Strategic Move for U.S. Tech Sovereignty

Forge Nano's technology, branded as Atomic Armor™, uses a process called Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) to apply ultra-thin, protective coatings to materials at the atomic level. This process dramatically enhances the performance, durability, and safety of products ranging from lithium-ion batteries to the complex semiconductors that power AI.

This capability has drawn significant attention from Washington. The company is a recent recipient of a $100 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, aimed squarely at expanding domestic battery cell manufacturing at its subsidiary, Forge Battery, in North Carolina. This government backing underscores the strategic importance of Forge Nano's mission. The funding directly supports the creation of a U.S.-focused battery supply chain for defense, aerospace, and specialty electric vehicle markets.

Furthermore, the company's focus on defense applications is particularly timely. A 2028 legislative mandate is set to prohibit the U.S. Department of Defense from procuring foreign-made battery cells, creating a captive and urgent market for domestically produced, high-performance batteries. Forge Nano's technology, which can make batteries more robust and less prone to failure in harsh conditions, is ideally suited to fill this critical gap.

“Domestic manufacturing of critical technologies is increasingly important to energy security and technology leadership,” said Paul Lichty, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Forge Nano, in the official announcement. “This transaction is expected to provide Forge Nano with the capital and market visibility to accelerate the next phase of our growth as we expand U.S. manufacturing.”

Unpacking the Billion-Dollar SPAC Transaction

The deal to take Forge Nano public is structured as a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, led by a team with a history of successful tech mergers. Archimedes Tech SPAC Partners II Co. (NASDAQ: ATII) brings not only capital but also market expertise, with its leadership team having previously taken SoundHound AI public in 2022.

The business combination values Forge Nano at a pre-money equity of $1.2 billion. The transaction is expected to provide up to $342 million in gross proceeds, assuming no redemptions from the SPAC’s trust. This includes $242 million in cash held by Archimedes II and a $100 million PIPE (private investment in public equity) from a leading institutional investor. With capital from this deal and a recent $82.2 million Series D funding round, the company has already satisfied the minimum cash condition for the merger to proceed.

Long Long, Chief Executive Officer at Archimedes II, highlighted the unique market position of their merger target. “Forge Nano has developed a unique manufacturing technology with real commercial applications in two of the most important industrial markets today: semiconductors and energy storage,” he stated. “We believe Forge Nano is well positioned to scale its platform and look forward to supporting the team as they enter the public markets.”

The infusion of capital will be used to aggressively scale U.S. manufacturing capacity for both semiconductor tools and lithium-ion batteries, accelerate the company’s product roadmap, and fund expansion into new high-growth verticals.

The Science of 'Atomic Armor'

At the heart of Forge Nano's value proposition is its mastery of Atomic Layer Deposition. While ALD is not a new science, Forge Nano claims to have made the process fast, affordable, and commercially viable for mass production. The Atomic Armor™ platform essentially “paints with atoms,” building flawless, conformal coatings one atomic layer at a time.

In the battery industry, these nanocoatings can stabilize the surfaces of cathode and anode materials, leading to batteries that last longer, charge faster, and are significantly safer by reducing the risk of thermal runaway. For the booming electric vehicle market, this could mean more durable and less expensive battery packs.

In the semiconductor world, as chips become more complex and three-dimensional, manufacturing defects can plummet production yields. Forge Nano's ALD technology can apply coatings that improve surface uniformity and reduce these defects, a crucial advantage in the race to produce the sub-3 nanometer chips required for advanced AI. The company suggests its technology can help remove bottlenecks in 3D chip stacking and potentially cut chip energy usage by half.

While established giants like ASM International and Beneq are major players in the ALD equipment market, Forge Nano aims to differentiate itself with a vertically integrated platform approach that serves both the semiconductor and battery industries, capitalizing on the immense synergies between them.

Backed by Titans: From Automotive to Aerospace

Further validating its technology and market potential is Forge Nano's impressive roster of strategic investors. The company's backers read like a who's who of global industry, each with a vested interest in the performance breakthroughs promised by ALD.

Automotive giants Volkswagen and GM Ventures have both invested, seeking to leverage Forge Nano's coatings to create the next generation of EV batteries. Their goal is to improve performance and drive down costs, a key hurdle for mass EV adoption. Hanwha Aerospace, a lead investor in the company's Series C round, is exploring applications for energy storage systems in urban air mobility and defense platforms.

Other strategic partners, including Air Liquide and LG Technology Ventures, reinforce the broad applicability of the technology. These are not passive financial investments; they are strategic partnerships built on a shared vision for how advanced materials will shape the future of manufacturing, energy, and transportation. This coalition of industry leaders provides Forge Nano with not only capital but also invaluable channels to market and deep industry expertise. With a target addressable market estimated to exceed $359 billion by 2034, the company's expansion plans also include promising new verticals such as pharmaceuticals, data centers, and quantum computing. With this public listing, Forge Nano is signaling its readiness to move from a research-driven innovator to a scaled-up industrial powerhouse at the forefront of America's manufacturing renaissance.