Maxwell Labs Wins mHUB’s Rising Star Award As One of the Midwest’s Hottest Up-and-Coming Startups

MXL Recognized for Breakthrough Photonic Laser Cooling Technology Advancing Performance and Energy Efficiency in AI and High-Performance Computing

St. Paul, MN / March 11, 2026 / Maxwell Labs was recognized with the Rising Star Award at mHUB’s 2026 Fourth Revolution Awards, held on March 5 in Chicago. mHUB cited Maxwell Labs as one of the hottest up-and-coming startups to emerge from the Midwest, advancing photonic laser cooling technology that converts heat into light to manage chip hotspots and improve performance and energy efficiency in AI and high-performance computing systems.

We are grateful for the recognition. It reflects the work of a world-class team building on decades of foundational physics to develop something that has never existed before.

From the Co-Founders

“We started Maxwell Labs because we saw a clear path from established physics to a device the world genuinely needs. The thermal ceiling on computing is real, and our technology addresses it at the most fundamental level. We are focused on the work ahead: completing our prototype, expanding the R&D team, scaling in-house fabrication, and demonstrating cooling power capabilities unmatched by any other conventional cooling technology.” — Jacob Balma (CEO), Mike Karpe (Chief Growth Officer), and Alejandro Rodriguez (CTO)

A New Physics Platform for Cooling Computing

mHUB recognized the breakthroughs of how Maxwell Labs is developing a fundamentally new class of solid-state cooling technology based on laser-driven photonic heat extraction. MXL’s tech uses precisely engineered light-matter interactions to directly extract thermal energy from solid materials. Heat is converted into light. That light is captured and returned as usable energy. The result is a solid-state, fluid-free system with no moving parts that removes heat through photons rather than fluids, pumps, or phase changes.

The physics behind this device share the same foundational lineage as the laser, the LED, and the solar cell. Each of those inventions introduced a new way to convert or control energy, and each reshaped entire industries as a result. Maxwell Labs is developing a device in that lineage, one that introduces a new physical mechanism for removing heat from matter.

Computing is our entry market and the most urgent near-term application. AI accelerators, GPUs, and custom ASICs are already operating at or near practical thermal limits. Data centers are spending enormous resources moving heat away from silicon. System architectures are being redesigned around cooling constraints. Our photonic cooling technology targets chip hotspots with surgical precision, enabling substantially higher compute density, meaningful increases in sustained performance, and large net reductions in total system power consumption.

The platform extends well beyond computing over time. Anywhere heat constrains capability, including aerospace electronics, defense systems, nuclear applications, and advanced manufacturing, photonic cooling changes the design space.

The Work Behind the Award

Maxwell Labs is built on deep, experimentally validated physics. Our team includes leading experts in nanophotonics, condensed matter physics, and optical systems, with direct experience turning fundamental physics into working devices. We have active collaborations with Sandia National Laboratories, the University of New Mexico, and the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies. The key building blocks of our platform have been experimentally verified and we are progressing through disciplined device development toward practical deployment.

We have moved from concept to prototype in three years, raised seed funding from institutional and angel investors, and secured government funding from the Army Research Lab and AFWERX.

Media Contact:

Mike Karpe
Co-Founder & Chief Growth Officer
Maxwell Labs, Inc.
(763) 670-2176