Jeff Bezos and the UK government's sovereign AI fund have invested in CuspAI, a Cambridge-based artificial intelligence startup that aims to become a "search engine for rare materials" to speed up scientific and industrial breakthroughs. The company wants to use AI to discover new materials that reduce reliance on rare metals such as iridium and ruthenium in chipmaking, and to improve batteries and energy networks, at a time when supply chains for such materials are seen as a bottleneck to progress.

CuspAI, founded two years ago, has raised $450m (£330m) in this series B funding round, valuing it at $2.6bn, following an earlier $100m series A raise. It has also launched the AI Materials Foundry, a coalition of more than 48 companies and research institutions including Nvidia, Meta and Hyundai, to build AI software for materials discovery. The funding will support international expansion, including a new Singapore office and additional staff in Cambridge, Amsterdam, Berlin, Tokyo and the US; CuspAI is the fourth firm backed by the government's sovereign AI fund, which typically invests £1m-£10m in early-stage British AI companies, though the size of its stake here was not disclosed.