Cambridge-based CuspAI announced on Monday that it has raised $450 million in a Series B funding round, achieving a valuation of $2.6 billion. The investment round was co-led by venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins and NEA, with significant participation from Jeff Bezos's fund, Bezos Expeditions. The UK government's Sovereign AI Venture Fund also contributed to the funding.
CuspAI develops artificial intelligence software designed to discover and create novel materials. The company's primary objective is to accelerate the development of materials essential for next-generation technologies, particularly in the semiconductor industry. CuspAI aims to significantly reduce the time required for material research and development, which traditionally can take years. A key focus for the company is to decrease or eliminate the reliance on rare metals, such as iridium and ruthenium, within chipmakers' supply chains due to their supply-chain risks.
To further its mission, CuspAI launched the AI Materials Foundry, a coalition of over 48 technology companies, industrial firms, and research facilities. Founding partners of the Foundry include technology giants such as Nvidia, Meta Platforms, and Hyundai Motor Group. This coalition intends to combine computing power and scientific resources to expedite the creation of new materials. CuspAI's proprietary AI platform, MIRA, will coordinate the discovery process from material design to experimental validation.
The company's co-founders, Dr. Chad Edwards and Professor Max Welling, stated that industrial progress is constrained by the lack of materials that do not yet exist. They emphasized their mission to solve this challenge by integrating advanced AI with domain expertise and customer partnerships. CuspAI expects semiconductor-related projects to comprise 80% of its research efforts this year, reflecting the intense demand from the chip manufacturing sector.
The Series B funding follows a $100 million Series A investment completed less than a year prior. CuspAI plans to use the new capital to expand its international operations, with new offices planned in Singapore and increased staff in existing locations such as Cambridge, Amsterdam, Berlin, Tokyo, and the United States.
The UK government's investment through its Sovereign AI Venture Fund aligns with its strategy to support early-stage British AI firms and enhance the nation's AI capabilities. Criteria for the fund include a main office in the UK and British founders. CuspAI is the fourth company to receive backing from this fund.
CuspAI has also strengthened its advisory board with the appointment of semiconductor executive Abhi Talwalkar, a board member at AMD and chairman of Lam Research. Former Apple and Google executive John Giannandrea has been hired to help establish CuspAI's U.S. foundry operations. AI researchers Geoffrey Hinton and Yann LeCun also support the company's technical direction.