CuspAI, which aims to accelerate the design process of new materials using AI, is in talks to raise at least $200 million in a new funding round, according to reports.
Founded in 2024, CuspAI's platform has been described as a search engine for materials. Users input the properties they want materials to have, at which point it generates the chemical composition needed to create it. The company recently topped the Sifted AI 100, a ranking of startups harnessing the technology to reshape industries across Europe.
On Monday, Bloomberg reported that while a formal term sheet had yet to be signed, the deal was expected to send Cusp’s valuation beyond the $1bn unicorn valuation.
Last summer, CuspAI secured a Series A led by NEA and Temasek. Since then, Bloomberg reports a subsequent extension — fuelled by "millions of dollars" in new commercial contracts — pushed its valuation to around $800m.
Other high-profile backers include Hoxton Ventures, Lightspeed and Giant Ventures.
The company boasts a formidable leadership circle, having recently added AI "godfathers" Yann LeCun, previously Meta’s chief AI scientist, and Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton, to its board.
CuspAI is among the first startups to have been granted access to the UK’s most powerful supercomputer Isambard, Sifted previously reported, enabling it to train more powerful AI models.
Sifted approached CuspAI for comment.
