Jeff Bezos and the UK government-backed VC fund backing domestic AI startups have invested in a UK startup developing AI systems to discover and design new materials for clean energy and chipmaking in a $450m raise.
The $450m Series B funding round in Cambridge-based CuspAI values the startup at $2.6bn, which is a five-fold jump from its valuation in September last year when it raised $100m at a valuation of $520m. In total, the two-year-old startup has now raised more than $670m.
CuspAI today has confirmed details of the Series B round, some of which had previously been reported by the media. The round was co-led by US VCs Kleiner Perkins and NEA with “significant participation” from Bezos Expeditions, the Amazon founder's family office.
Additional new investors in the round include Glade Brook Capital Partners, Lux Capital, AMDVentures, Tru Arrow Partners, StepStone and the UK’s Sovereign AI Fund, the UK government-backed VC fund backing domestic AI startups.
Sovereign AI, which publicly launched this year, invests between £5m and £10m in UK AI startups. Existing investors in CuspAI, including Temasek, Basis Set Ventures, Giant Ventures, Phoenix Court and Northzone, also participated.
