Jeff Bezos and UK Government Invest in Cambridge AI Startup CuspAI

Jeff Bezos and the UK government joined a $450 million Series B round for the Cambridge-based artificial intelligence startup CuspAI that valued the two-year-old company at $2.6 billion, The Guardian reported. The round followed a $100 million Series A investment completed last year and coincided with the launch of the AI Materials Foundry coalition of more than 48 tech companies, industrial firms and research facilities.

Members include Nvidia, Meta Platforms and Hyundai. The coalition aims to build AI software that discovers and develops new materials for chipmakers and other industries. The company said the software will cut research times and reduce or eliminate the use of rare metals including iridium and ruthenium in chipmakers’ supply chains.

Co-founders Dr Chad Edwards and Prof Max Welling stated that progress on new materials is required to avoid constraints on the next 50 years of industrial progress. CuspAI plans to open an office in Singapore and increase staff numbers in Cambridge, Amsterdam, Berlin, Tokyo and the US.

The round made CuspAI the fourth company to receive funding from the UK government’s sovereign AI fund, which typically makes equity investments of between £1 million and £10 million.

Liz Kendall, the science and technology secretary, said the backing supports breakthroughs in energy and climate challenges. John Giannandrea, a former Apple and Google executive, is helping set up CuspAI’s US operations. The company is also working with Abhi Talwalkar, a board member at AMD and chair of Lam Research.