CuspAI Launched AI Materials Foundry & Announced $450 Million Series B.

CuspAI, building AI-powered materials discovery, led by Dr Chad Edwards and Prof. Max Welling, has launched the ‘AI Materials Foundry’, a global network of data, labs, compute, and scientific expertise for the design of new materials, alongside announcing its $450 million fundraise led by Kleiner Perkins and NEA, with significant participation from Jeff Bezos’ Bezos Expeditions. The round values Cusp at $2.6 billion and will allow the company to move faster still across the US, APAC and Europe.

Additional new investors include Glade Brook Capital Partners, Lux Capital, AMD Ventures, Tru Arrow Partners, StepStone, Britain’s Sovereign AI Venture Fund, the Netherlands’ Invest-NL and John Doerr. Existing investors Temasek, Basis Set Ventures, Giant Ventures, Touring Capital, Prosus, Phoenix Court, and Northzone also participated. The company is delighted to have the additional expertise of John Giannandrea (former Apple and Google exec), who’s helping set up US foundry operations, and its latest advisory board member, Abhi Talwalkar, AMD Board Member & Chairman of Lam Research.

More than 45 leaders across industry and technology are joining as founding partners of the AI Materials Foundry, including NVIDIA, Meta, Samsung, Hyundai Motor Group, Henkel, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron and Lam Research, representing key markets across the United States, Asia-Pacific and Europe.

The next era of industrial progress depends on solving a fundamental challenge: developing materials that do not yet exist. The AI Materials Foundry aims to address this challenge by combining frontier agentic AI with deep scientific expertise, proprietary data access and close collaboration with industry partners.

Josh Coyne, Partner at Kleiner Perkins, said:

“Many of the biggest technological breakthroughs depend on advances in materials. From more affordable carbon capture solutions to next-generation semiconductors and cleaner water technologies, progress is often limited by the lack of materials that have yet to be discovered. CuspAI has developed a search engine designed to accelerate this process by identifying new materials with real-world applications.

What distinguishes Max, Chad and the team is their focus on designing materials that can be practically manufactured, rather than simply generating theoretical possibilities. CuspAI’s technology has the potential to define the AI-driven materials revolution, and Kleiner Perkins is proud to co-lead the company’s Series B.”

Philip Chopin, Managing Director and Head of Europe at NEA, said:

“Accelerating materials discovery represents one of the most critical challenges of the modern era, with far-reaching implications across semiconductors, energy and advanced manufacturing. CuspAI’s ability to bridge frontier AI with the physical world has distinguished the company and attracted leading industry partners from the outset.

Since NEA co-led the Series A, Chad, Max and the team have demonstrated exceptional focus and the ability to build a world-class organization. NEA is proud to deepen its investment as CuspAI advances a new approach to designing and deploying next-generation materials across the world’s most important industries.”

John Doerr of Doerr Capital said:

“Materials discovery has long been an underlying constraint on progress across energy, semiconductors and climate technologies. CuspAI stands out for its ability to apply a single AI platform to address complex challenges across industries, from removing persistent chemicals from drinking water to designing next-generation semiconductor materials.

The transition toward AI-driven discovery is accelerating, with Chad Edwards, Max Welling and the CuspAI team positioned at the forefront of enabling a new era of technological innovation.”

Alongside the launch of the AI Materials Foundry, the team continues to expand globally, with a new office in Singapore and a growing presence across Cambridge, England; Amsterdam; Berlin; Tokyo; and the United States.

The opportunity ahead represents a defining moment for materials innovation. New materials have the potential to unlock breakthroughs in performance, sustainability, and solutions to some of the world’s most complex challenges. Progress across critical industries will require discoveries beyond the limitations of existing materials.