spotLESS Materials / New York Times Wirecutter mention · Oct 2024
The company highlighted a positive Wirecutter feature on its toilet coating product.
Repellent coatings without PFAS
Company research
Public company, workplace, funding, and market signals
Overview
spotLESS Materials is a State College-based advanced materials coatings company commercializing PFAS-free, bio-inspired LESS (liquid-entrenched smooth surface) coatings that repel liquids, sludge, mineral buildup, and ice across sanitation, medical, automotive, and industrial applications.
Primary product
LESS (liquid-entrenched smooth surface) anti-fouling / easy-clean coating
Founded
2018
Headquarters
200 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803, United States
Team size
1-10
Industry
Nanotechnology Research
Sub-industry
Advanced materials coatings
Offices
200 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803
State College, Pennsylvania
Centre Hall, Pennsylvania
Business model
B2B industrial partnerships
custom product development and pilots
proof-of-concept evaluations
bulk sales
licensing
direct-to-consumer e-commerce
Funding
Stage
Seed
Total raised
$4.2M
Latest round
Seed · Aug 2024
Latest amount
$1.6M
People & investors
Leadership
Co-founder and CEO
Co-founder and CTO
Vice President of Business Development
Work & culture
Mission-driven and research-led, with a nature-inspired engineering culture focused on solving global grand challenges, sustainability, and practical impact; public posts also emphasize team rituals and work-life balance.
Compensation
Public compensation evidence is limited. One internship posting disclosed $15-$20/hour, while the current operational role posting did not disclose pay.
Benefits
Flexible work hours
On-site parking
Bike racks
CATA Red Link bus access
Potential career advancement
Product & market
Pricing
Custom B2B engagements with pilots, proof-of-concept work, scale-up consulting, bulk sales, and licensing; some consumer products are sold directly online.
Differentiators
- —PFAS-free
- —Repels both liquids and sludge-like solids
- —Self-healing and abrasion-resistant
- —Applies in less than 5 minutes in ambient conditions
- —Works on glass, metal, ceramic, and some plastics
- —Strong water-saving and anti-fouling performance claims
- —Bio-inspired, nature-derived design
Technology
LESS coatings
liquid-infused nano-brush technology
self-healing surface coatings
JazzHR
Slack
Impact
Customers
Sanitation and toilet product buyers
Medical device and biomedical processing customers
Automotive glass, windshield, LIDAR, and sensor manufacturers
Industrial and corporate partners
Consumer and fleet buyers
Competitors
Traditional hydrophobic and superhydrophobic coating suppliers
Other PFAS-free surface coating companies
Self-cleaning / anti-fouling coating vendors
Scale & contact
Estimated revenue
~$1M ARR (public estimate)
Estimated monthly visits
4.4K
Traffic estimate as of Nov 2025
Latest news
Axios · Aug 2024
Axios reported that spotLESS Materials raised $1.56M in seed financing to develop PFAS-alternative coatings.
spotLESS Materials · Mar 2024
Penn State recognized co-founder and CTO Tak-Sing Wong for his research and inventions in slippery liquid-infused surfaces.
spotLESS Materials · Mar 2024
Penn State recognized CEO Birgitt Boschitsch with an Alumni Achievement Award.
Invent Penn State · Jan 2022
Penn State profiled the company’s growth, industrial partnerships, and more than $2.8M in total funding at the time.
Jobs and careers at spotLESS Materials
0 jobs at spotLESS Materials
No open positions
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