AI-Powered Materials Revolution
CuspAI Secures $450 Million Series B Funding, Launches AI Materials Foundry to Speed Discovery
Anonymous
Key Points
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The Series B round drew a broad set of new investors beyond Bezos Expeditions, including Glade Brook Capital Partners, Lux Capital, AMD Ventures, Tru Arrow Partners, StepStone, Britain’s Sovereign AI Venture Fund, Invest-NL, and John Doerr.
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The round followed a Series A raised over €87.4 million (more than $100 million) less than a year earlier.
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The company’s valuation jumped from about $520 million in the prior round to $2.6 billion after this Series B.
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CuspAI is explicitly targeting supply-chain bottlenecks by seeking alternatives to scarce metals such as ruthenium and iridium to ease semiconductor, battery, and related industrial shortages.
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CuspAI was founded in 2024 by Dr. Chad Edwards and Prof Max Welling, underscoring rapid growth after launch.
Cambridge-based startup CuspAI raised $450 million in a Series B round and launched the AI Materials Foundry, a global coalition of more than 45 partners aimed at speeding up the discovery of new materials, according to EU Startups. The round values the company at $2.6 billion — up from roughly $520 million less than a year ago.
Kleiner Perkins and NEA led the round, with notable backing from Jeff Bezos' Bezos Expeditions, UK Tech News reported. Foundry partners include Nvidia, Meta, Samsung, Hyundai, and Lam Research, spanning the US, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
From $520M to $2.6B Valuation in Under a Year
CuspAI was founded in 2024 by Dr. Chad Edwards and Prof. Max Welling. It raised its Series A — more than $100 million — less than a year before this latest round, according to EU Startups. The Series B of €393.2 million pushed its valuation to €2.2 billion, or about $2.6 billion.
Beyond Kleiner Perkins and NEA, the round drew Glade Brook Capital Partners, Lux Capital, AMD Ventures, StepStone, Britain's Sovereign AI Venture Fund, Invest-NL, and investor John Doerr, UK Tech News reported. The broad mix of venture and sovereign backers signals wide confidence in AI-driven materials science.
MIRA AI Finds New Materials Up to 10x Faster
CuspAI's core product is MIRA, an AI system designed to act as a search engine for materials. It scans vast combinations of atoms and molecules to find workable, synthesisable materials. The company says MIRA can identify promising candidates up to 10 times faster than traditional lab methods.
CEO Chad Edwards said the goal is to turn AI-generated ideas into real materials. The platform targets bottlenecks in semiconductors, batteries, and industrial chemicals, according to Voice LaPaaS. CuspAI is specifically hunting for alternatives to rare metals like ruthenium and iridium, which are scarce and expensive.
45-Partner Foundry Spans Chips, Batteries, and Chemicals
The AI Materials Foundry launched alongside the fundraise. It already counts more than 45 partners, including Nvidia, Meta, Samsung, Hyundai Motor Group, Henkel, Applied Materials, and Tokyo Electron, according to TipRanks. Partners span North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.
Co-founder Max Welling said the coalition is built to close the gap between AI-generated discoveries and actual production. Labs and manufacturers work together inside the Foundry to validate and scale new materials. The network targets supply-chain shortages that affect entire industries, from chip fabs to electric vehicle batteries.
CuspAI Joins a Wider Race to Industrialise AI Science
CuspAI's rise reflects a broader push to use AI for real-world industrial breakthroughs. Sovereign funds from the UK and the Netherlands joined the round, showing government-level interest in AI materials research, Analytics Insight noted. The Sovereign AI Venture Fund's participation is especially notable — it signals Britain's bet on homegrown deep-tech.
With $450 million in fresh capital and a 45-partner network, CuspAI now has the resources to move from research to manufacturing at scale. The company's rapid growth — from founding in 2024 to a $2.6 billion valuation — makes it one of the fastest-rising AI startups in Europe.
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