Pre-A Investment from CNT Tech: "A Game Changer in the BIPV Market"
The accelerator CNT Tech invested in ACE Inventor in April 2025 through the smart construction startup programme funded by the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology and operated by CNT Tech. The agreement was dated 9 April and the investment, 200 million won, was made in redeemable convertible preferred stock through the KIF-CNT Tech ICT investment partnership.
CNT Tech pointed to the company's attempt to move past the limits of silicon using hydrogel-based dye-sensitised cells, a technology it judged suited to making efficient use of dense urban space while serving environmentally oriented architecture.
"This investment will let us advance our mass-production system and, working with leading construction and automotive companies at home and abroad, move demonstration projects into full gear," Joung said, adding that the company intends "to lead the global market with next-generation solar solutions fit for a carbon-neutral era."
Hwa Sung Jeon, chief executive of CNT Tech, described ACE Inventor as "a company that has built independent competitiveness in a field with high technical barriers" and said he expected it "to act as a game changer in the BIPV market."
That the investment was mediated by a construction research institute says much about the round. The company had received KICT's President's Award in November 2024 and established validation space at the institute's headquarters that December; the investment followed from the same relationship.
ACE Inventor Inc., founded in November 2022, develops ultra-lightweight building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) modules. Its core technologies are a water-based hydrogel electrolyte membrane, electrophoretic large-area flexible electrode coating, and ultra-lightweight curved module design using FRP and ETFE composites. The company operates a 50 MW annual production line in Paltan-myeon, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi-do, and holds KS C 8577 BIPV module certification together with ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001. Its patent portfolio includes seven registered Korean patents and one registered US patent, with 23 applications filed in Korea and abroad. Contact info@aceivt.com · www.aceivt.com
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