KoBold Metals achieves Unicorn Status after $195M raise
KoBold Metals, a startup based in Berkeley, California, recently achieved a unicorn valuation of $1.15 billion following a successful funding round.
The round raised $195 million from prominent investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Breakthrough Energy Ventures backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, and T. Rowe Price, with Axios reporting the total funding amount. This achievement is notable because it is uncommon for mining companies to reach unicorn status.
KoBold Metals focuses on the intersection of artificial intelligence and alternative energy sources. The company employs AI to identify and mine valuable metals like cobalt, copper, nickel, and lithium, which are essential for the production of batteries used in various sectors, including electric vehicles. By leveraging a database of information about the Earth’s layers and utilizing algorithms, KoBold Metals makes predictions about mineral deposits worldwide.
Plans
With the latest funding, KoBold Metals intends to develop copper reserves in Zambia. In December of the previous year, the company had already committed $150 million to acquire a controlling stake in these undeveloped copper reserves. Additionally, the startup is actively engaged in 60 ongoing exploration projects across North America, Africa, and Australia. Co-founder and CEO Kurt House highlighted the declining success rates in discovering new deposits and emphasized the need for technological breakthroughs to overcome this challenge.
This recent funding round follows a significant Series B round in February 2022, where KoBold Metals secured $192.5 million. Notable investors in that round included Apollo Projects, Bond Capital, BHP Group, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. Since its establishment in 2018, KoBold Metals has now raised over $400 million in funding.
