Prosus Ventures has announced its participation in a Series A funding round exceeding $100 million for CuspAI, an artificial intelligence company focused on materials discovery. The round was co-led by NEA and Temasek, with involvement from other major investors including NVentures (the venture arm of NVIDIA), Samsung, Hyundai Motor Group, Basis Set Ventures, FJ Labs, Giant Ventures, LocalGlobe, Northzone, Tiferes Ventures, Touring Capital, and several angel investors.
CuspAI was established in 2024 by Dr. Chad Edwards and Professor Max Welling. The company’s platform is described as an AI “search engine” for materials science that allows customers to define specific material properties and generates new candidates much faster than conventional methods.
In its first year of operation, CuspAI has entered into partnerships with organizations such as Hyundai Motor Group for sustainable energy applications, Kemira for PFAS removal projects, and Meta in carbon capture initiatives. Further collaborations are planned in sectors including semiconductors.
Sandeep Bakshi, Head of European Investments at Prosus Ventures said: “Material science is one of the most exciting frontiers for AI, and some of the most transformative breakthroughs will come in areas yet to be discovered. CuspAI is at the forefront of that shift — redefining how new materials are created and accelerating innovation across industries from semiconductors to clean energy. With an exceptional founding team, CuspAI shows the strength of Europe’s AI ecosystem. Europe is a core focus for Prosus, with our headquarters in Amsterdam, and we’re proud to support Chad and Max as they scale their vision worldwide.”
CuspAI’s leadership includes Dr. Chad Edwards—who previously contributed to quantum computing firm Quantinuum—and Professor Max Welling—a former Distinguished Scientist at Microsoft Research and VP of Technology at Qualcomm.
The investment aligns with Prosus Ventures’ strategy to back advanced technology companies that aim to transform key industries. Other investments in its portfolio include Tierra Biosciences (synthetic biology), Neara (infrastructure digital twins), and Oxford Ionics (quantum computing). Oxford Ionics was recently acquired by IonQ for over $1 billion.
CuspAI plans to use this latest financing round to expand globally and increase operations in markets such as the United States and Asia.
Chad Edwards commented: “Next-generation AI compute, clean air and water and sustainable energy – these multi-billion-dollar global challenges share a common barrier: materials. CuspAI’s mission is to change that. In just a year, we’ve gone from concept to partnerships with world leaders in automotive, semiconductors, energy, and climate. This funding allows us to scale our platform and deliver transformative materials to market faster. We’re grateful for the support of our investors, and the strategic backing from our customers as we accelerate into our next phase of our growth.”
To aid commercialization efforts, CuspAI has expanded its advisory board with industry figures including Martin van den Brink (former President & CTO of ASML) and Lord John Browne (former BP CEO). They join existing advisors such as Professors Geoffrey Hinton and Yann LeCun—both recipients of the Turing Award—as well as Professor Kristin Persson and Verity Harding.
CuspAI combines generative AI with molecular simulation technologies aiming to reduce material design timelines from decades down to months. The company operates out of Cambridge (UK) with teams also based in Amsterdam and Berlin.
