Battery materials startup Sila has raised $300 million to expand its factory in Washington State, aiming to produce enough silicon-carbon anode material to power more than 100,000 electric vehicles annually. The funding comes despite a slowdown in US EV demand, which has weakened following Trump administration policies seen as hostile to the technology and the expiry of tax credits, even as global EV sales continue to grow strongly.

Sila's anode material offers up to 40% more energy storage than conventional graphite anodes and charges faster, while also providing automakers with an alternative to Chinese graphite supply chains, which currently account for roughly three-quarters of the market. The Moses Lake plant, which began production in September, will scale up from 2 gigawatt-hours to tens of gigawatt-hours of annual capacity. The round was led by Atreides Management and Sutter Hill Ventures, with participation from 8VC, Bessemer Venture Partners, Matrix Partners and T. Rowe Price, bringing Sila's total funding to around $1.6 billion; the company already supplies Mercedes, Panasonic and consumer electronics firms such as Whoop.