CuspAI secures $450M and launches AI Materials Foundry

A British artificial intelligence startup, CuspAI, has announced a $450 million funding round and the launch of a major industry consortium aimed at accelerating the discovery of new materials critical to semiconductor manufacturing, clean energy, and other advanced industries. The Series B investment, finalized on July 20, 2026, was led by venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins and New Enterprise Associates (NEA), with significant participation from Jeff Bezos's family office, Bezos Expeditions. The round values the two-year-old Cambridge-based company at $2.6 billion, a fivefold increase from its valuation of $520 million in September 2025.

The funding coincides with the launch of CuspAI's "AI Materials Foundry," a global network designed to pool data, laboratory resources, computing power, and scientific expertise. More than 45 organizations have joined as founding members, including NVIDIA, Meta, Samsung, Hyundai Motor Group, Hitachi High-Tech, and Merck. The initiative seeks to address what company officials and investors describe as a materials bottleneck that is constraining progress in sectors like semiconductors and clean energy.

CuspAI uses its proprietary AI platform,...