Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos-backed mining company KoBold raise $537 million

KoBold, an American mining startup backed by billionaire investors including Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, said it has raised $537 million in its latest funding round.

The funding round, co-led by investors Permanent Capital Partners LP and T. Rowe Price, values ​​Kobold at $2.96 billion, according to the company.

Existing backers, including venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, which counts Bezos as an investor, as well as new money from StepStone, also participated in the funding round.

The US mining startup has raised a whopping $1 billion so far as it seeks to undermine China’s dominance in the minerals supply chain.

KoBold uses artificial intelligence, including OpenAI’s generative AI, to examine historical and scientific data to find mineral deposits.

The United States relies heavily on China to supply in-demand metals such as copper, lithium and nickel – used in cell phones, data centers and electric car batteries.

“KoBold’s mission is to expand and diversify the global supply of critical resources essential for prosperity, energy technology, artificial intelligence and security,” KoBold CEO Kurt Haus said in a statement.

The company said the multi-million dollar investment will be used to finance new exploration projects and enhance research and development.

The company added that the funding will be used to advance “high-potential projects”, such as the massive copper deposit in Zambia that Kobold discovered last February.

The company said the $2 billion mine will produce at least 300,000 tons of copper annually.

“Kobold shows how combining scientific excellence with artificial intelligence can enable the discovery of minerals critical to the global energy transition,” Henry Ellenbogen, managing partner and chief investment officer at Permanent Capital Partners LP, said in a statement.