British artificial intelligence startup CuspAI has raised $450 million (£330 million) from investors including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and the UK government, valuing the two-year-old company at $2.6 billion.

The Cambridge-based startup is developing what it describes as a “search engine for rare materials,” designed to reduce the time required to discover and develop materials for chipmakers and other industries, according to The Guardian.

Frontier AI Targets Materials Research

CuspAI has also launched the AI Materials Foundry, a coalition of more than 48 technology companies, industrial businesses, and research facilities. Nvidia, Meta Platforms, and Hyundai are among its members.

The coalition plans to use frontier AI models to identify materials that could improve the efficiency of batteries and energy networks while advancing semiconductor performance. CuspAI also wants to reduce or eliminate reliance on rare metals such as iridium and ruthenium across industrial supply chains.

“If we don’t make progress fast, the next 50 years of industrial progress will be constrained by a single challenge: the world needs materials that don’t yet exist,” said CuspAI co-founders Dr. Chad Edwards and Prof. Max Welling. “That’s what we’re on a mission to solve – combining frontier agentic AI with deep domain expertise, exclusive data access, and close customer partnerships. The world simply can’t make the progress it needs to with known materials, that much is clear.”

The company’s approach combines agentic AI with scientific expertise, proprietary data, and industry partnerships. Rather than relying only on existing material databases, CuspAI is positioning its technology to support the discovery of materials with properties suited to specific industrial requirements.

Why It Matters

Materials discovery is a critical dependency for advances in semiconductors, clean energy, batteries, carbon capture, and water treatment. CuspAI’s proposition is that frontier and agentic AI can shorten the research process by helping scientists identify promising materials more efficiently.

For semiconductor companies, discovering alternatives to rare metals could reduce supply-chain exposure while supporting further improvements in chip performance. Energy and industrial businesses could similarly benefit from materials designed for more efficient storage, transmission, or production.

The AI Materials Foundry also gives CuspAI access to potential customers and research partners across several industries. Its effectiveness will depend on whether the coalition can convert AI-generated material candidates into products that can be validated, manufactured, and deployed commercially.