Jeff Bezos is putting his money behind a new race in the chip world. His investment company, Bezos Expeditions, is in a massive investment round where they invested a total of $450 million in startup CuspAI, which is based in the UK and is looking to utilise AI in semiconductor material discovery.

News of the Cambridge company’s Series B deal was released Monday. New venture capitalists Kleiner Perkins and NEA led the deal. The infusion of fresh cash takes CuspAI’s valuation to $2.6 billion. That’s a considerable improvement from one year prior, when the figures were $520 million.

Why Chipmakers Need This Technology

Semiconductor companies face a real problem. Some of the scarce metals are becoming hard to find, like iridium and ruthenium. The materials are essential for fabricating the next generation of chips.

CuspAI is seeking to change that. The company plans to spend about 80% of its research time this year on semiconductor materials. It aims to discover new alternatives to limited elements such as metals, a process typically taking several years in laboratory testing, and powered by AI.

In this context, CuspAI initiated the AI Materials Foundry. A large consortium of over 48 companies and research institutions. Prominent companies such as Nvidia, Meta Platforms and Hyundai Motor Group already are part of the group. The Group will pool computer resources, laboratory facilities and scientific expertise.

Big Names Behind the Startup

This is an impressive team that CuspAI has assembled. AI experts Yann LeCun and Geoffrey Hinton are advisors. Business growth completed by John Giannandrea, a previous high executive at Apple and Google, is that company’s goal in California. AMD Ventures was also an investor in this round.

Not all was about chips for the startup. It began work on materials for carbon capture and water purification, but changed course to cope with the chip industry’s increased demand.

There have been no commercially applicable materials yet from CuspAI. Limited lab space, computing power are still its greatest challenges, executives say. Nonetheless, this investment highlights investor confidence that AI’s next major leap forward could be from a science lab, rather than software.

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