The modern way to come up with new material is to create something and then use a computer to check if the material came out correctly. But what if you flipped that by using generative-AI-powered software to design the content in the first place? That's the premise behind Cambridge, UK-based CuspAI, which has now secured $30 million in a seed round led by Hoxton Ventures.
As co-founder and CEO Chad Edwards said, “We're flipping the old process on its head and saying, 'OK, if you can put a material or a molecule in and get the properties out, Why can't you put the properties and get the material and the molecule?''
The market is dominated by players such as Schrodinger (listed on NASDAQ) and Dassault Systemes, both of which provide software tools for performing computational chemistry and material simulations.
Orbital Materials is the newest on the block from part of the team behind Google's DeepMind, which has an AI-powered platform that explores materials from batteries to carbon dioxide-capturing cells. can be used to It recently raised $16 million in a Series A round.
“Just as search engines enabled the Internet, we believe we are on the edge of a world where you can discover new materials by searching a vast space of molecules with exactly the desired properties. “We think we are entering an era of 'material demand,'” he said.
In fact, the company says its platform acts like a search engine for content, enabling rapid evaluation of “a large number of new structures.”
“Civilization has always defined itself by the materials of that age, so, Bronze Age, Stone Age, etc. We think we are moving into materials according to the demand age,” he added.
The company just launched this year, and CuspAI apparently has its work cut out for it. However, Edwards isn't starting from scratch.
Its co-founder is Max Welling, a professor and well-known pioneer of AI. He was previously a distinguished scientist and VP at Microsoft Research and Qualcomm, and also a professor at the University of Amsterdam. “Our AI can generate and test new materials on demand. For example, you can request a material that selectively binds carbon dioxide under certain conditions—the AI would then generate possible molecular structures. is, evaluates and refines those that meet these exact criteria,” he said in a statement.
Edwards Hemslf is a chemist who has been involved in deep tech commercialization at Google and BASF, and most recently the quantum computing leader, Quantum.
Jeffrey Hinton, known as the “Godfather of AI,” will also serve as an advisor to the board.
In a statement, Hinton said: “Humanity will face many challenges in the coming decade. Some will be caused by AI while others can be solved by AI. I am proud of CuspAI and its mission. Impressed that AI can be used to accelerate the design process of new materials to tackle one of humanity's most pressing challenges: climate change.
One area where CuspAI believes AI-generated materials could have a near-significant impact is carbon capture and storage.
“We're looking at the design of molecular sponges that selectively absorb carbon dioxide from the air,” Edwards said. “When you heat them, they release carbon dioxide that you can pipe and use, or bury it underground, whatever you want to do.”
CuspAI has also partnered with Meta on its Open Science project to explore new materials to tackle climate change.
“The Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) team looks forward to collaborating with CuspAI in their use of AI, including our OpenDAC work, to accelerate the discovery of novel DAC sorbent materials,” said Yann Le Cun, VP and Chief AI Scientist. Meta said in a statement. “The world needs rapid progress on affordable carbon capture, and we believe the team at CuspAI is well-positioned to apply AI-based material discovery to this critical problem.”
Other investors in the round include LocalGlobe, NorthZone, Turing Capital, Giant Ventures, FJ Labs, Tyfers Ventures and Zero Prime Ventures. Angel investors including DeepMind's Mehdi Ghisi and Dorothy Chou also participated.