Industry landscapes
Get Pro
Industry report

Funding and advertised pay are reported in USD; filed accounts retain their stated source currency and basis.

Exchange-rate basis

Indicative conversions use ECB reference rates dated 2026-09-14, applied consistently across all periods. They are not historical exchange rates. Indian rupees may use crore (1 crore = 10 million); other currencies use K, M and B. CSV downloads, source documents and quoted news headlines retain their original currencies.

THE THE UNITED STATES EDITION 2026

the United States’s
chemicals and materials industry,
in focus.

The companies, capital and talent shaping chemicals and materials in the United States. Find the leaders. Understand the segments. See where the activity is.

Explore in Radar Read the key signals
Snapshot: Funding in USD
Illustrated cover for Chemicals and Materials Industry Landscape of the United States
US
COMPANIES · CAPITAL · TALENT

An industry ecosystem,
measured in context.

Chemicals and Materials illustration
Companies tracked 9,142Chemicals and Materials ecosystem in the United States Disclosed funding $20B372 companies · all recorded rounds Companies hiring 650With open roles at the snapshot Tracked open roles 2,01521 employers posted in the preceding 30 days
MEET THE COMPANIES

Explore the United States’s chemicals and materials leaders

24 featured companies from the funding, hiring, revenue and team-size leaderboards.

Expand panel +
Explore the full landscape
Chemicals and Materials company highlights in the United States, snapshot 6 August 2026
Company
CF Industriescfindustries.com$2.8B—2,012—
Novelisnovelis.com$2.75B—71—
Axaltaaxalta.com$2.43B12 roles2,924—
Monolithmonolith-corp.com$1.63B—97—
Entegrisentegris.com$1.25B13 roles1,361$3.2BFYFY2025 filing
Compass Mineralscompassminerals.com$602M—1,954—
Berry Globalberryglobal.com$400M—955—
Circuluscirculus.com$400M—16—
Celanesecelanese.com—13 roles16,362$9.54BFYFY2025 filing
Avient Corporationavient.com—12 roles12,600$3.26BFYFY2025 filing
Hexcelhexcel.com—12 roles5,590—
Solenissolenis.com—12 roles51—
altium packagingaltiumpkg.com—12 roles3,300—
INX International Inkinxinternational.com—11 roles1,190—
Air Productsairproducts.com——14$12.04BFYFY2025 filing
Albemarlealbemarle.com——9,184—
Alcoaalcoa.com——16,258—
Cleveland-Cliffsclevelandcliffs.com——39,117—
Dow Chemical Companydow.com——35,900Financial figure available in RadarView in Radar
Nucornucor.com——32,000$32.49BFYFY2025 filing
PPGppg.com——16$15.88BFYFY2025 filing
RPM Internationalrpminc.com——17,274—
Sherwin Williamssherwin-williams.com——64,088$23.57BFYFY2025 filing
Steel Dynamicssteeldynamics.com——7,635Financial figure available in RadarView in Radar
24 featured companies

Locked revenue figures are available in Radar; the eight company financial previews stay the same throughout this page. A dash means the figure is outside these featured lists. Revenue years vary by company; the figures are not a like-for-like revenue comparison. Compare annual accounts ↗

Company discovery

Recorded evidence only

Explore the live startup set in Radar

No company example met every recorded classification, independence and public-profile gate in this snapshot. The live directory may have newer qualifying companies.

Explore classified startups in Radar ↗
THE KEY SIGNALS

Chemicals and Materials industry KPIs in the United States

A few useful ratios bring the size of this ecosystem into perspective.

6 August 2026
Hiring participation7.1%

650 of 9,142 tracked companies have open roles.

Funding participation4.6%

416 of 9,142 tracked companies have a recorded round.

Top 3 funding share39.9%

Share of disclosed capital received by the three largest recorded recipients.

Median disclosed round$898.63K

Midpoint of 615 rounds with a disclosed amount.

Scale is concentrated. Opportunity is broader. The three largest funding recipients hold 39.9% of disclosed capital, while 95.4% of tracked companies have no recorded funding round.

Explore the segments →
CAPITAL & COMPANY FORMATION

How the United States chemicals and materials has grown

Recorded company formation and disclosed funding across the complete annual series shown.

Expand panel +
2016 — 2025

Disclosed funding by year

Sum of recorded funding rounds · USD

the United States chemicals and materials
$0$1.3B$2.59B$3.89B$5.18B2016: $4.55B20162017: $756.8M20172018: $3.83B20182019: $476.45M20192020: $1.74B20202021: $822.44M20212022: $2.29B20222023: $372.6M20232024: $266.69M20242025: $637.3M2025
View the numbers
Annual chemicals and materials funding and company formation in the United States
YearFunding (USD)FoundedRaising
2016$4.55B11433
2017$756.8M13525
2018$3.83B13139
2019$476.45M15945
2020$1.74B15364
2021$822.44M11355
2022$2.29B7555
2023$372.6M5655
2024$266.69M1951
2025$637.3M459
WHERE CAPITAL SITS

Funding concentration

Share of all disclosed company funding.

  • CF Industries14.0%
  • Novelis13.8%
  • Axalta12.2%
  • Other companies60.1%

Funding by stage

697 recorded rounds since 2016

NUMBER OF ROUNDS
Seed & Angel126 18.1%
Series A–B71 10.2%
Series C+ / PE25 3.6%
Grants, debt & other475 68.1%

Recent recorded rounds

Latest recorded rounds · USD
8 rounds

Swipe or scroll horizontally to browse.

Unattributed05/2026
USFibers —

Backed by Glisco Partners and OIC.

Seed03/2026
Phosio $4.94M

Backed by Mesh Ventures and Elevate Capital and others.

Largest and notable recorded rounds

Each card is one recorded round
10 cards

Swipe or scroll horizontally to browse.

THE BUSINESS BEHIND THE ACTIVITY

Revenue, profitability & financial strength

Annual accounts for reporting companies linked to this landscape, on like-for-like currency and reporting bases.

Expand panel +
USD · millions · consolidated

Display conversions use the dated reference rates above. Where a verified rate is unavailable, figures retain their source currency. Each reporting cohort keeps its currency and accounting basis separate.

FY2025 · annual statements grouped by reported fiscal year; exact entity periods remain on preview rows · 34 reporting entities from 64 eligible matches.

Revenue in covered accounts$204,404.2m

Sum of reporting-entity revenue; not the United States market sales.

Net profit / loss$5,962.3m

Combined result for the same cohort.

Aggregate net margin+2.9%

Combined net income ÷ combined revenue.

Median company revenue$3,047.3m

The middle covered reporting entity.

Profitable entities+58.8%

20 of 34 covered entities.

Top-five concentration+50.0%

Share of covered revenue from the five largest entities.

Annual account trend

Reported cohort totals by year; coverage is stated for every period.

Bar height shows revenue. Changes in coverage can affect totals.

Profitability has two perspectives

FY2025 · 34 reporting entities

Open the company accounts

Up to eight fixed company previews show financial amounts. Search and sort the wider company list, then continue in Radar.

34 reporting entities
Continue your financial research in Radar

Explore full company accounts and filings.

View financials in Radar ↗
THE UNITED STATES · INDUSTRY COHORTS

How does chemicals and materials compare?

Each pair uses the same year, currency and reporting basis. Cohort overlap is disclosed.

IndustryCovered / eligibleRevenue totalMedian revenueNet profit / lossAggregate marginProfitable shareOverlap

Available-account cohorts are not estimates of whole industries. Overlapping entities can occur in more than one cohort; do not add cohort totals.

Coverage, calculations & financial sources

Filed annual accounts for exact designated national identifiers. Every aggregate and peer pair uses one fiscal year, source currency and reporting basis; periods, coverage and overlap are explicit; 2026 partials are excluded.

The same up to eight reporting entities remain open across years, filters and sorts. Other company figures are available in Radar.

Source currencies and accounting bases stay separate. Missing accounts are excluded rather than treated as zero. Exact reporting periods appear on company previews. Annual totals can change with coverage and do not measure growth of a fixed company cohort.

DIGITAL FOOTPRINT

Web traffic, app reach and release cadence

How the the United States companies on this page show up online: the sites people visit, the apps they install, and how often those apps ship.

Busiest websites

21 of the 9,143 companies on this page carry a measured traffic record (0.2%); these are the largest of those, by monthly visits. The median among them is 117,160 visits.

CompanyMonthly visitsAuthorityMobile
Sherwin Williamssherwin-williams.com4,341,7587660.1%
W. L. Gore & Associatesgore.com565,3695287.2%
Eastman Kodak Companykodak.com561,4945447.2%
Corningcorning.com515,0405137.9%
in the swimintheswim.com347,5063857.2%
MyPerfectColormyperfectcolor.com218,5184539.1%
dipyourcardipyourcar.com163,2043871.3%
Minwaxminwax.com152,4424849%
Saltwateraquariumsaltwateraquarium.com143,0013830.3%
PPGppgpaints.com139,4815044.8%

Visits and authority are third-party web estimates, not company-reported figures.

Most-installed apps

66 of these companies (0.7%) publish at least one Android app — 91 apps in all, carrying 2M installs between them.

AppInstallsRatingStore category
Sherwin-Williams Color Expert™Sherwin Williams647K3.5House & Home
Color PortfolioBenjamin Moore548.7K3.7House & Home
Pantone ConnectPantone440.9K1.9Productivity
OrendaOrenda Technologies87.3K4.6Productivity
Pool Time ClearPool Expert™Pool Time73.4K2.1Productivity
PPG PaintsPPG22.2K3.6Productivity
iChemistryIntersolia20.3K—Business
Explosive Engineers\' GuideDyno Nobel18.2K2.2Tools
ColorSmart de BEHR® ChileBehr16.5K2.3Lifestyle
Saltwater Aquarium AppSaltwateraquarium15.3K3.3Shopping

Installs are lifetime totals to date at the June 2026 store reading — a measure of reach, not of people using an app today.

App reach by segment

The busiest app inside each of this page’s own segments, with the quarterly release trend behind it (2023Q1–2025Q3).

SegmentAppsInstallsLeading appRelease trend
Paints And Coatings221.7MSherwin-Williams Color Expert™ 647K
Cleaning Chemicals387.9KOrenda 87.3K
Water Treatment Chemicals674.8KPool Time ClearPool Expert™ 73.4K
Industrial Gases741.3KGas Converter 14.8K
Oil & Gas Equipment629KMyAirProducts 3.9K
Building Materials416.6KQXO 13.4K
Chemical Distributors415.6KSaltwater Aquarium App 15.3K
Materials Distributors213.7KRadonAway 230

A company can carry several segment tags, so these rows overlap and should not be added together. Trend lines are zero-based and share one quarter grid, so a flat line is a quiet segment, not a missing one.

Release cadence by quarter

New apps published, beside apps whose most recent update landed in that quarter — the second bar is how much of the shelf is still being maintained.

2022Q4: 52022Q4: 02022Q42023Q1: 22023Q1: 02023Q12023Q3: 12023Q3: 32023Q32023Q4: 42023Q4: 02023Q42024Q1: 52024Q1: 12024Q12024Q2: 42024Q2: 02024Q22024Q3: 22024Q3: 52024Q32025Q1: 52025Q1: 22025Q12025Q2: 32025Q2: 42025Q22025Q3: 22025Q3: 142025Q32025Q4: 22025Q4: 92025Q42026Q1: 12026Q1: 182026Q1

Darker bars are new releases, lighter bars apps updated. 82 of 91 apps carry a release date. The series ends at 2026Q1, the last quarter that closed before the June 2026 reading.

INSIDE THE INDUSTRY

The the United States chemicals and materials market map

Explore the segments behind the headline numbers.

Expand panel +

Where companies are building

Rank segments by scale, hiring or disclosed funding.

Enterprise tech66
Deep tech45
Fortune 50033
Inc 500025
Global 200025
Masschallenge batches13
Consumer digital11
Enterprise software11
Circular economy9
Green chemicals7
Saas6
Life sciences6

Companies can sit in several segments. Counts and funding overlap.

SEGMENT TO EXPLORE

Enterprise tech

The largest measured segment in this report snapshot.

66companies
9.1%have hiring activity

6 companies hiring · $2.15B disclosed funding

Explore in Radar

How companies make money

Common revenue models; a company can use more than one.

Physical commerce5,938
E-commerce - product5,221
Fee-for-service1,392
Commission on transaction224
Advertising180
Subscription97
E-commerce - service85
Sponsorship14
THE COMPANIES IN MOTION

Who is listing, hiring leaders, launching and winning work

Recorded corporate activity linked to companies in this landscape.

Expand panel +
Recent corporate headlines 10 dated reports
Funding roundsibcadvancedalloys.com ↗

IBC Advanced Alloys Corp. announced an amendment to its credit agreement with Sallyport Commercial Finance, LLC. This amendment increases the credit facility from $6 million to $7 million and extends the maturity date to September 30, 2028.

Mergers & acquisitionsalbemarle.com ↗

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Albemarle in the third quarter valued at about $138,723,000.

Funding roundsusfibers.com ↗

USFibers, a U.S.-based recycler and manufacturer of high-quality polyester staple fiber, today announced a new strategic investment from Glisco Partners (“Glisco”) and Orion Infrastructure Capital (“OIC”) to expand production capacity, enhance technical capabilities, improve efficiency, reach new markets, and further support long-term partnerships with customers and suppliers.

Mergers & acquisitionsrepublicwire.com ↗

Nexans has signed an agreement to acquire 100% of the share capital of Republic Wire, Inc., an established American manufacturer of low-voltage copper and aluminium wire products headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Mergers & acquisitionsmscplasma.com ↗

Barings is excited to partner with Behrman Capital through the acquisition of Metallizing Service Company, and we look forward to continuing to support Behrman with financing solutions across future acquisitions.

Mergers & acquisitionsshrieve.com ↗

Shrieve Chemical Company has acquired a suburban Chicago manufacturer of bio-based solvents, company officials said Thursday.

Mergers & acquisitionsppg.com ↗

First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its position in PPG Industries by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 6,263,829 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $658,391,000 after acquiring an additional 703,549 shares during the period.

Mergers & acquisitionscorning.com ↗

China’s JA Solar recently sold its Arizona facility to US material sciences firm Corning Inc.

Mergers & acquisitionszyax.in ↗

Varun Mukhi is leading Zyax Chem’s next phase of growth with the acquisition of a 26 per cent stake in Gaymed Labs.

IPO activityaxt.com ↗

AXT announced a public offering of common stock

Full recorded event mix

Top 10 categories among 6,073 recorded events in the 24-month window.

Earnings
1,646
Leadership moves
1,437
Mergers & acquisitions
786
Company announcements
758
Asset acquisitions
366
Contracts
299
Funding rounds
109
Board Updates
105
New products
105
Capital infusions
98
7 activity cards

Swipe or scroll horizontally to browse.

IPO pipeline

12 companies with recorded IPO activity

AXT ↗

Follow-on Offering · NASDAQ1 reports

PRISM ↗

IPO · main board of Indian stock exchanges7 reports

Novelis ↗

IPO · US3 reports

Presco ↗

Follow-on Offering · Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited1 reports

IPO activity · NYSE2 reports

Follow-on Offering · New York Stock Exchange3 reports

prince ↗

Direct Listing · Frankfurt Stock Exchange1 reports

CPS ↗

Follow-on Offering · NASDAQ1 reports

Leadership moves

228 tracked people moves

PRISM ↗
Ankit Tandon

Appointment Vice Chairman at G6 Hospitality

Christina Chen

Appointment President and Chief Operating Officer

Allan Fulcher

Appointment Head of Business Development and Technical Sales

Jonathan Arena

Appointment EVP, Chief Legal and Compliance Officer and Secretary at Howmet Aerospace

AdvanSix ↗
Patrick Day

Appointment Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Lamar Duhon

Appointment President and CEO

John Rathbun

Promotion Chairman of the board

Ryerson ↗
Mr Mark Silver

Appointment Executive Vice President and Chief Legal & Risk Officer

Product launches

Products, platforms and features in the recorded window

AdvantaPure PETG bottles

PETG Bottles

tennant co ↗
X16 SWEEP

Autonomous robotic sweeper

Livaeco™ Lyocell

Sustainable Fibre

Sironix ↗
Furasoft-LFS

Personal Care Ingredients

Sironix ↗
Furasoft-SF

Personal Care Ingredients

Reviva-M

Circular fibre

Eastman ↗
Saflex™ LiteCarbon™ Clear

Interlayer

Instron ↗
drop tower impact testing systems

Materials testing instrumentation

Regulatory events

76 recorded events

IBC ↗

awaiting approvalTSX Venture Exchange

Albemarle ↗

Chile\'s environmental assessment agency

ongoing investigationDOJ

Alcoa ↗

fined for land clearingfederal government

Litigation

30 tracked suits

Company
Kentucky Public Service Commission v East Kentucky Power Company, nucor, attorney general

Regulatory rate case for East Kentucky Power CompanyRegulatory · Settled

Company
Ingevity v BASF Corporation

antitrustAntitrust · Verdict

Earnings pulse

Reported company results in the recorded window.

115companies
1,875period observations
3.7%median reported growth

Median across 1,262 reported growth observations; companies may contribute multiple periods.

Mergers and acquisitions

Company-linked deal reports; status is preserved as recorded.

Acquirer → targetStatusDateValue / context
Harrington Industrial Plastics→Aetna Plastics ↗Announced2026-07-23Not stated in snapshot
dupont→Dow Chemical Company ↗Announced2026-07-20$130.0B
berkshire hathaway→Lubrizol ↗Announced2026-06-09$9.0B
nexans→Republicwire ↗Announced2026-05-05$734.0M
Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC→Albemarle ↗Announced2026-05-04$49.1M
PGGM Investments→Albemarle ↗Announced2026-05-04$96.1M

A discussion or rumour is not a completed transaction. An unstated value is not zero.

PEOPLE & OPPORTUNITY

The talent market

20,816 postings in the preceding 12 months. The full 28,183-posting snapshot covers 552 employers.

Expand panel +

Most advertised job titles

Security Officer195
Security Professional Flex Officer193
Surveillance Investigator156
Account Manager154
Store Customer Service Specialist141
Security Officer Hospital133
2 internship postings

218 tracked postings mention remote work.

The seniority mix

5,385 postings specify a level.

unspecified
22,798
manager
3,136
senior
1,064
entry
416
lead
392
intern
377

Skills employers mention

Top skills across 28,183 tracked postings in the available jobs snapshot.

Driver’S License
324
Excel
229
Microsoft Office
178
Vehicle
152
Sap
114
Computer Applications
109
Retail Management Software
107
Word
90
Driver\'S License
82
Computer Skills
81
ADVERTISED PAY$56.2K/ year

Median across 1,887 postings with pay data, expressed in USD.

Salary by seniority

manager$100.0K/ year349 postings
senior$100.0K/ year84 postings
lead$90.0K/ year50 postings

Advertised posting medians do not describe all employees or roles.

THE PEOPLE BUILDING THE FIELD

Founders and leaders

1,238 founders and chief executives across 1,141 companies.

Expand panel +
12 profiles

Swipe or scroll horizontally to browse.

Education networks

96 profiles with education records.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
15
University of Pennsylvania
9
Cornell University
8
Stanford University
8
Harvard Business School
7
Columbia University
7
Harvard University
6
Kellogg School of Management
5

Prior employers

5 profiles with prior-work records.

Amazon
2
McKinsey
1
Morgan Stanley
1
Bain
1

Profiles cover recorded founders and leaders; contact details remain in Radar.

NEWS INTELLIGENCE

How this industry appears in the news

130,053 articles in the measured 12-month window.

Expand panel +
130,053articles in the measured year
34,265articles in 2026Q1
72.7%positive tone in the latest complete year

News volume trends

Chemicals and Materials coverage across United States · articles per complete quarter

023,84247,68471,52695,3682021Q2: 23,5372021Q22021Q3: 26,3982021Q4: 19,7782022Q1: 26,9802022Q2: 24,5222022Q22022Q3: 22,4232022Q4: 27,1922023Q1: 31,1832023Q2: 30,6052023Q22023Q3: 34,8392023Q4: 38,5622024Q1: 43,5352024Q2: 43,7062024Q22024Q3: 38,6862024Q4: 37,8112025Q1: 82,9292025Q2: 31,4092025Q22025Q3: 34,9532025Q4: 29,0552026Q1: 34,2652026Q1
View quarterly article counts
QuarterArticles
2021Q223,537
2021Q326,398
2021Q419,778
2022Q126,980
2022Q224,522
2022Q322,423
2022Q427,192
2023Q131,183
2023Q230,605
2023Q334,839
2023Q438,562
2024Q143,535
2024Q243,706
2024Q338,686
2024Q437,811
2025Q182,929
2025Q231,409
2025Q334,953
2025Q429,055
2026Q134,265

Article volume measures coverage, not market sales.

Tone of coverage over time

2021
61,362 positive · 1,206 neutral · 19,064 negative
2022
72,844 positive · 2,549 neutral · 25,615 negative
2023
105,431 positive · 1,764 neutral · 27,866 negative
2024
128,645 positive · 2,149 neutral · 32,813 negative
2025
129,449 positive · 7,292 neutral · 41,401 negative

Leading coverage topics

Chemicals and Materials coverage across United States · ranked by full-period article count.

Mineral Exploration Drilling Techniques17,050 articles in the full recorded period
4,509 recent · 3,511 prior
Major Contract Wins And Losses11,125 articles in the full recorded period
3,105 recent · 2,455 prior
Mining Law And Policy Frameworks10,459 articles in the full recorded period
2,843 recent · 2,290 prior
New Product Launches And Innovations9,698 articles in the full recorded period
2,227 recent · 2,251 prior
Strategic Partnerships And Collaborations9,472 articles in the full recorded period
2,435 recent · 2,146 prior
Sustainability Initiatives And Esg Reporting9,143 articles in the full recorded period
1,720 recent · 2,112 prior
Mergers And Acquisitions Activity Updates8,820 articles in the full recorded period
2,486 recent · 2,040 prior
Precious Metal Mining Operations8,498 articles in the full recorded period
1,803 recent · 1,966 prior
Industrial Metal Market Analysis7,586 articles in the full recorded period
2,213 recent · 2,068 prior
Plastic Pollution Solutions6,671 articles in the full recorded period
1,333 recent · 1,499 prior

Recent and prior counts use the source comparison windows.

Topics gaining and losing attention

Chemicals and Materials coverage across United States

KeywordRecentPriorChange
rare earth elements extraction1,155492135%
auger drilling88963241%
drill testing73551842%
college playoffs694167316%
electrowinning rare earths677280142%
ncaa updates62067825%
campus sports61183636%
oil price volatility447140219%
percussion drilling40226353%
sonic drilling38522075%
chemical safety assessments1991,881-89%
osha chemical standards1051,296-92%
tariff negotiations544879-38%
stock indices436663-34%
advanced recycling technologies413648-36%

Event and signal lenses

Chemicals and Materials coverage across United States

All complete annual cohorts shown
Rising

Regulatory Risk

196,344 classified articles

plastic recycling, plastic bans, diamond drilling

32.8% critical · 39.5% positive
Rising

Funding Momentum

49,992 classified articles

exploration funding, mineral exploration, diamond drilling

32.3% critical · 47.1% positive
Rising

Growth

126,141 classified articles

chemical pricing, bulk chemical suppliers, copper demand

20.6% critical · 51.0% positive

Chemicals and Materials coverage across United States. Topic labels describe recorded classifications and can include broad context.

RESEARCH SIGNALS

What Chemicals and Materials research is working on

1,306 papers in the recorded india scope.

Expand panel +
1,306papers
10,510worldwide comparison pool
1,306India-affiliated papers

Research orientation

Breakthrough
541
Promising
483
Descriptive
186
Problem-identifying
57
Comparative
25
Cautionary
9
Critical
5

Contribution mix

Methods-led
784
Reviews
287
Empirical
200
Position pieces
26
Theoretical
9

Tone counts: 1,246 positive · 56 neutral · 4 negative.

Common problems researchers identify
62 papers · 4.7% of this field
  • Smart material30 papers
  • Nanotechnology18 papers
  • Actuator6 papers
  • Textile6 papers
  • Self-healing hydrogels5 papers
  • 3D printing4 papers
  • Polymer4 papers
  • Shape-memory alloy4 papers

Landmark: Covalent adaptable networks: smart, reconfigurable and responsive network systems

Cautions
9 papers · 0.7% of this field
  • Smart material2 papers
  • Shape-memory alloy2 papers
  • Composite material2 papers
  • Actuator1 papers
  • Microelectronics1 papers
  • Nanotechnology1 papers
  • Thermochromism1 papers
  • Commercialization1 papers

Landmark: Global Performance Indices for Dynamic Crystals as Organic Thermal Actuators

Opportunities
1,024 papers · 78.4% of this field
  • Smart material293 papers
  • Actuator216 papers
  • Shape-memory alloy170 papers
  • Elastomer115 papers
  • Nanotechnology109 papers
  • Composite material87 papers
  • Morphing86 papers
  • Shape-memory polymer79 papers

Landmark: A review of stimuli-responsive shape memory polymer composites

Leading institutions

Georgia Institute of Technology
7,127
University of Colorado Boulder
5,392
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
3,173
Kent State University
3,097
North Carolina State University
2,808
Harvard University
2,422

Leading researchers

Xiao Kuang
2,936
Christopher N. Bowman
2,857
Christopher J. Kloxin
2,726
Hari Krishna Bisoyi
2,162
Qi Ge
2,089
Guoqiang Li
2,032
Harper Meng
1,766
Conner K. Dunn
1,679

Highly cited breakthrough-labelled papers

  • Multimaterial 4D Printing with Tailorable Shape Memory Polymers1,085 citations
  • Soft material for soft actuators817 citations
  • Conductive MXene Nanocomposite Organohydrogel for Flexible, Healable, Low‐Temperature Tolerant Strain Sensors801 citations
  • Active materials by four-dimension printing745 citations
  • Magnetic Shape Memory Polymers with Integrated Multifunctional Shape Manipulation714 citations

Common problems researchers identify

59 papers · 4 recurring themes
4 cards

Swipe or scroll horizontally to browse.

Smart textiles and wearable electronicsCommon problems researchers identify · 01

Smart textiles and wearable electronics

28 papers

47.5% of this theme group

Researchers highlight challenges in integrating smart materials with fabrics and wearable computing platforms.

Smart material (14) · Textile (5) · Nanotechnology (9) · Wearable computer (3)

Smart textiles: A toolkit to fashion the future

Smart materials and devices for electronic textiles

View research history
YearShare index
20226039.3
20236060.7
20246433.7
20255113.6
Smart biomaterials for health monitoringCommon problems researchers identify · 02

Smart biomaterials for health monitoring

17 papers

28.8% of this theme group

Papers point to difficulties in developing responsive biomaterials for structural health and actuation.

Smart material (11) · Structural health monitoring (2) · Biomaterial (2) · Actuator (3)

Smart Materials for Microrobots

On the road to smart biomaterials for bone research: definitions, concepts, advances, and outlook

View research history
YearShare index
202280.6
202384.8
202467.8
202582.7
Stimuli‑responsive polymer designCommon problems researchers identify · 03

Stimuli‑responsive polymer design

8 papers

13.6% of this theme group

Authors note obstacles in controlling nanostructure and responsiveness of polymeric nanomaterials.

Nanotechnology (5) · Polymer (3) · Spiropyran (2) · Nanomaterials (2)

New directions in thermoresponsive polymers

Stimuli-responsive polymer gels

View research history
YearShare index
20226304.3
20236316.5
20246647.6
20255335.7
Self‑healing soft roboticsCommon problems researchers identify · 04

Self‑healing soft robotics

6 papers

10.2% of this theme group

Works discuss limits of flexibility and durability in hydrogel‑based soft robotic systems.

Self-healing hydrogels (5) · Biomimetics (2) · Soft robotics (2) · Flexibility (2)

Multifunctional soft machines based on stimuli-responsive hydrogels: from freestanding hydrogels to smart integrated systems

Stimuli-Responsive Chemomechanical Actuation: A Hybrid Materials Approach

View research history
YearShare index
2022296.5
2023311.3
2024328.8
2025415.9

Opportunities

986 papers · 7 recurring themes
7 cards

Swipe or scroll horizontally to browse.

Responsive polymers as smart nanomaterialsOpportunities · 01

Responsive polymers as smart nanomaterials

198 papers

20.1% of this theme group

Opportunities focus on designing polymers that adapt to external cues for diverse applications.

Smart material (152) · Nanotechnology (52) · Smart polymer (11) · Polymer (24)

Responsive Polymers as Smart Nanomaterials Enable Diverse Applications

Smart and Responsive Micro‐ and Nanostructured Materials

View research history
YearShare index
20226027.3
20236048.8
20246424.5
20255103.1
Shape‑memory alloys and polymersOpportunities · 02

Shape‑memory alloys and polymers

191 papers

19.4% of this theme group

Research explores programmable shape changes and pseudoelastic behavior for advanced functional components.

Shape-memory alloy (165) · Shape-memory polymer (79) · SMA* (43) · Pseudoelasticity (16)

Magnetic Shape Memory Polymers with Integrated Multifunctional Shape Manipulation

Strong, Tailored, Biocompatible Shape‐Memory Polymer Networks

View research history
YearShare index
2022188.3
2023195.2
2024214.4
2025199.0
Magnetorheological fluids and elastomersOpportunities · 03

Magnetorheological fluids and elastomers

161 papers

16.3% of this theme group

Studies target tunable stiffness and actuation using magnetic field‑responsive polymer systems.

Magnetorheological fluid (19) · Actuator (54) · Magnetorheological elastomer (10) · Stiffness (16)

Magnetic Dynamic Polymers for Modular Assembling and Reconfigurable Morphing Architectures

Shape morphing mechanical metamaterials through reversible plasticity

View research history
YearShare index
2022300.5
2023285.0
2024229.0
2025280.8
Self‑healing nanocomposite hydrogelsOpportunities · 04

Self‑healing nanocomposite hydrogels

156 papers

15.8% of this theme group

Efforts aim at creating biocompatible materials that recover structure and function after damage.

Self-healing hydrogels (37) · Nanotechnology (51) · Self-healing (11) · Biocompatibility (10)

Embedded 3D Printing in Self‐Healing Annealable Composites for Precise Patterning of Functionally Mature Human Neural Constructs

Shape-programmable and healable materials and devices using thermo- and photo-responsive vitrimer

View research history
YearShare index
20226152.9
20236180.0
20246569.7
20255319.4
Liquid‑crystal elastomer actuatorsOpportunities · 05

Liquid‑crystal elastomer actuators

100 papers

10.1% of this theme group

Works investigate 4D‑printed elastomers that convert stimuli into programmable mechanical motion.

Elastomer (73) · Liquid crystal (30) · Soft robotics (24) · Actuator (34)

Molecularly‐Engineered, 4D‐Printed Liquid Crystal Elastomer Actuators

4D-Printable Liquid Metal–Liquid Crystal Elastomer Composites

View research history
YearShare index
2022175.8
2023175.2
2024168.9
2025184.3
Piezoelectric and triboelectric energy scavengersOpportunities · 06

Piezoelectric and triboelectric energy scavengers

94 papers

9.5% of this theme group

Research pursues high‑performance composites for converting mechanical motion into electrical power.

Piezoelectricity (66) · Triboelectric effect (11) · Energy scavenging (16) · Piezoelectric sensor (10)

Growing recyclable and healable piezoelectric composites in 3D printed bioinspired structure for protective wearable sensor

Effective Properties of Carbon Nanotube and Piezoelectric Fiber Reinforced Hybrid Smart Composites

View research history
YearShare index
2022189.8
2023196.7
2024191.0
2025228.6
Embedded smart sensors for structural healthOpportunities · 07

Embedded smart sensors for structural health

86 papers

8.7% of this theme group

Papers propose multifunctional materials that monitor strain and damage within civil infrastructure.

Structural health monitoring (25) · Smart material (42) · Piezoresistive effect (10) · Structural engineering (13)

Smart aggregates: multi-functional sensors for concrete structures—a tutorial and a review

An Experimental Study on Static and Dynamic Strain Sensitivity of Embeddable Smart Concrete Sensors Doped with Carbon Nanotubes for SHM of L

View research history
YearShare index
202263.6
202367.2
202451.7
202571.1

How this field compares with the research baseline

Orientation shares compared with 25,000 papers in the reference sample.

Research orientationThis fieldReference sample
Breakthrough41.4%26.3%
Promising37.0%37.3%
Descriptive14.2%17.0%
Problem-identifying4.4%10.0%
Comparative1.9%3.8%
Cautionary0.7%4.8%
Critical0.4%0.9%

Concerns receiving less research attention

Counts and shares refer to the stated research pool. A low count describes how much of that research is recorded here, not the absence of a real-world concern.

Concern / example paperPapersShareRaised as a problemWorldwide share
Privacy & surveillanceLiquid crystal-polymer composites switchable windows for radiant energy flow and privacy control10.08%0 (0.0%)0.08%
Energy & datacenter footprint00.0%0 (%)0.01%
Water use00.0%0 (%)0.0%
Carbon & emissions of compute00.0%0 (%)0.0%
Hardware, e-waste & supply chain00.0%0 (%)0.0%
Labour & data work00.0%0 (%)0.0%
Safety & misuse00.0%0 (%)0.0%
Bias & fairness00.0%0 (%)0.02%
Concentration of compute power00.0%0 (%)0.0%

Institution and researcher rankings use citations to their covered work. Research scope: United States. This may be broader than the company geography.

INNOVATION SIGNALS

Who files Chemicals and Materials patents in the United States

Published patent filings in the recorded source window.

Expand panel +
88,582filings 2016–2025
8,000assignees
9,998peak annual filings

Filing momentum

02,8745,7498,62311,4982016: 9,85220162017: 9,9982018: 9,53320182019: 9,9722020: 9,54520202021: 9,0202022: 8,12520222023: 8,3112024: 7,39320242025: 6,8332025

Who files the most

IBM
5,881
GEN Electric
4,493
Halliburton Energy Services
3,870
Intel
3,631
UNIV California
3,335
3M Innovative Properties
3,293
Corning
3,129
United States Gypsum
2,665
GEOGRAPHIC FOOTPRINT

Where companies are based

Company counts, hiring and disclosed funding across the recorded hubs.

Expand panel +
8 cards

Swipe or scroll horizontally to browse.

UNDERSTAND THE LANDSCAPE

Chemicals and Materials in the United States: key questions

Clear definitions for making better comparisons.

What does this landscape measure?

It measures the tracked company ecosystem, recorded funding, hiring and other available evidence. It is not a market-size estimate.

Can segment counts be added together?

No. A company can belong to several segments, so segment counts and funding can overlap.

What does a missing figure mean?

A dash or unavailable panel means the current reviewed source snapshot does not support that figure.

KEEP EXPLORING

Put the United States in context

All landscapes ↗

Company ecosystem snapshot: 6 August 2026. Funding is recorded in USD; filed accounts retain their stated currency and reporting basis. Each section identifies its own coverage. The news and research behind these sections is explorable in Prism.

Canonical landscape ↗
Coming soon