Jeff Whalen is the founder, director, and CEO of Magnetics Corporation (MagCorp) and holds a PhD in inorganic chemistry from Florida State University. A serial deep-tech founder, he brings extensive experience in venture creation, advanced materials, magnetism, and superconductivity to the companies and technologies Quantum Coast Capital evaluates.
Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida, MagCorp develops commercial superconductivity and magnetism through partnered technology development with organizations worldwide. Whalen built the company to translate frontier magnet science into products with real-world impact across energy, industry, and human health.
Whalen spent seven years as research faculty at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (2012–2019), where he led a Department of Energy– and Department of War–funded materials science and electromagnet systems research group. He then served as STEM Entrepreneur in Residence and teaching faculty at Florida State University’s Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship (2018–2023), teaching innovation and commercialization, before returning to the MagLab as Portfolio Director of the Rare Earth Initiative through 2024.
Earlier in his career, Whalen founded and led multiple deep-tech ventures, including FullScaleNANO and Specialized Crystal Processing, commercializing nanoscale measurement and crystal-growth technologies. That combination of fundamental magnet science, materials expertise, and repeated company building is exactly the technical and entrepreneurial depth QCC looks for in the founders it backs.