CuspAI
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Investors
Founders
About
CuspAI is a Cambridge, UK-based AI startup founded in 2024 by Chad Edwards (CEO) and Max Welling (CTO), building an AI platform to accelerate materials discovery for semiconductors, manufacturing, clean energy, and computing applications 123. The platform generates candidate material designs and tests them in simulations. Geoffrey Hinton and Yann LeCun serve as advisers, and the early customer roster reportedly includes ASML, Meta Platforms, and Hyundai Motor 13. The company open-sourced a materials simulation toolkit called kUPS in April 2026 2.
On 2026-07-20, CuspAI announced a $450 million (€393.2 million) Series B at a $2.6 billion (€2.2 billion) valuation, and simultaneously launched the AI Materials Foundry — a coalition of more than 45 organisations including NVIDIA, Meta, Samsung, Hyundai Motor Group, Henkel, Applied Materials, Tokyo Electron and Lam Research — pooling computing and scientific resources to accelerate materials design 456. The valuation grew from $520 million in September 2025 5.
Funding History
| Date | Round | Amount | Lead | Co-investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-20 | Series B | $450M (€393.2M) | Kleiner Perkins, NEA | Bezos Expeditions, Glade Brook Capital Partners, Lux Capital, AMD Ventures, Tru Arrow Partners, StepStone, Sovereign AI Venture Fund, Invest-NL, John Doerr, Temasek, Basis Set Ventures, Giant Ventures, Touring Capital, Prosus, Phoenix Court, Northzone 456 |
What Investors Say
“Most big leaps in technology come down to a material, and the next set, from cheaper carbon capture to semiconductors and cleaner water, is stuck waiting on materials nobody has discovered yet.” — Josh Coyne, Partner, Kleiner Perkins 5
What Founders Say
No independently sourced founder testimonials found at announcement.
Sources
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SiliconANGLE, “AI material discovery startup CuspAI reportedly raising $400M round,” June 17, 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://siliconangle.com/2026/06/17/ai-material-discovery-startup-cuspai-reportedly-raising-400m-round/↩↩
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Tech Startups, “Jeff Bezos backs AI materials startup CuspAI in $400M round at $2.6 billion valuation,” June 17, 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://techstartups.com/2026/06/17/jeff-bezos-backs-ai-materials-startup-cuspai-in-400m-round-at-2-6-billion-valuation/↩↩
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Silicon Republic, “Scientific research start-up CuspAI to raise $400m with Jeff Bezos among backers – FT,” June 17, 2026. Accessed June 2026. https://www.siliconrepublic.com/start-ups/scientific-research-start-up-cuspai-to-raise-400m-with-jeff-bezos-among-backers-ft↩↩
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EU-Startups, “CuspAI raises €393.2 million at €2.2 billion valuation; launches AI Materials Foundry to accelerate materials discovery,” July 20, 2026. Accessed July 20, 2026. https://www.eu-startups.com/2026/07/cuspai-raises-e393-2-million-at-e2-2-billion-valuation-launches-ai-materials-foundry-to-accelerate-materials-discovery/↩↩
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Yahoo Finance / Bloomberg, “CuspAI raises $450 million Series B for AI materials discovery,” July 20, 2026. Accessed July 20, 2026. https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/cuspai-raises-450-million-series-121902705.html↩↩↩↩
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CNBC, “Bezos backs CuspAI as startup teams up with Nvidia to hunt for chipmaking materials,” July 20, 2026. Accessed July 20, 2026. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/20/bezos-cuspai-new-chip-materials-nvidia.html↩↩