Key facts
- CuspAI, a British AI startup, raised $450 million in a Series B funding round.
- The company is valued at $2.6 billion post-funding.
- Investors include Jeff Bezos's investment fund and the UK government's sovereign AI fund.
- CuspAI aims to accelerate technological breakthroughs by discovering new materials using AI.
- The AI Materials Foundry coalition includes Nvidia, Meta Platforms, and AMD Ventures.
British AI startup CuspAI has secured $450 million in a Series B funding round, with significant backing from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's investment fund and the UK government's sovereign AI fund. The company is valued at $2.6 billion and aims to accelerate technological progress by using artificial intelligence to discover novel materials.
CuspAI also launched the AI Materials Foundry, a coalition of over 45 companies, including tech giants like Nvidia and Meta, and chip designer AMD. This initiative aims to pool computing resources to develop AI software capable of designing and discovering new materials, addressing a bottleneck in industries such as semiconductors and clean energy.
The funding, co-led by Kleiner Perkins and NEA, will support CuspAI's global expansion into the U.S., Asia-Pacific, and Europe. The startup's AI platform, MIRA, is designed to manage the entire discovery cycle, from generative design to experimental validation. New investors also include Glade Brook Capital Partners, Lux Capital, and Netherlands' Invest-NL.
Co-founders Dr. Chad Edwards and Professor Max Welling highlighted the critical need for new materials to sustain future industrial progress. The company has also brought on board semiconductor veteran Abhi Talwalkar as an advisory board member and former Apple and Google executive John Giannandrea to help establish its U.S. foundry operations.