KoBold Metals, an American artificial intelligence start-up specializing in the discovery of mineral deposits, announced on 1is January a Series C fundraising of $537 million (518 million euros). The round was led by T. Rowe Price and Durable Capital Partners, with support from Breakthrough Energy Ventures (Bill Gates’ investment fund) and Silicon Valley venture capitalist Andreessen Horowitz. This financing would value the start-up at $2.96 billion (2.86 billion euros).
Machine learning algorithms to make searches more precise
Founded in 2018, KoBold Metals analyzes large data sets, such as geological archives or maps, to discover previously unexplored deposits. It sets up several machine learning algorithms to delimit a search area. A way to improve classic mining prospecting, which is often very expensive and inconclusive. The start-up, which does not publicly mention who it works with, derives its income from operating the sites and selling metals.
The company is trying to find deposits of copper, nickel, lithium and cobalt, widely used in electric vehicle batteries, in the semiconductor sector and even in the defense industry. Demand for these metals is exploding: according to the International Energy Agency, in 2030, copper mines will only meet 80% of global demand. A figure which drops to 50% for lithium and cobalt mines.
KoBold Metals now intends to exploit the discovered sites
Last February, KoBold Metals announced that it had discovered a huge copper deposit in Zambia. This mine, called Mingomba, has, according to some experts, a high concentration of ore. A discovery allowing the start-up to make a strategic change: in addition to research, it intends to launch into the exploitation of discovered sites. From 2030, nearly 300,000 tonnes of copper could be extracted each year.
Kurt House, co-founder and CEO of Kobold Metals, announced that 40% of the amount of this new financing would be allocated to the development of already existing projects, particularly in Zambia. The start-up, which currently has 190 employees, also wants to hire data scientists and geoscientists to improve data collection and analysis. Kobold Metals finally plans to go public between 2028 and 2030.
Selected for you
