Silicon Valley-based KoBold Metals, an AI-powered mining company backed by Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and other prominent investors, has raised $537 million in equity funding. The round was led by Durable Capital Partners and two T. Rowe Price funds, with continued support from existing backers like Andreessen Horowitz and Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures. The latest funding values KoBold at $2.96 billion.
Founded in 2018, KoBold combines machine learning with geological data to streamline the search for critical minerals like copper, lithium, and nickel. These resources are vital for electric vehicles, renewable energy technologies, and data infrastructure. Using proprietary platforms like TerraShed and Machine Prospector, KoBold enhances the efficiency and accuracy of mineral exploration, reducing traditional exploration costs and timelines.
CEO Kurt House stated that KoBold’s mission is to expand and diversify the global supply of critical resources essential for energy technology, AI, and security. The company’s efforts are particularly significant amid growing global competition for mineral supply chains, which are currently dominated by China. Recent U.S. policies aim to counterbalance this dominance through incentives for domestic mineral production.
KoBold has already demonstrated the potential of its AI-driven approach. In February 2023, it announced a major copper discovery at its Mingomba project in Zambia, one of the largest high-grade copper finds in recent years. Part of the new funding will support further exploration and feasibility studies at Mingomba.
Breakthrough Energy Ventures, founded by Gates, focuses on sustainable energy technologies and counts prominent figures like Michael Bloomberg and Ray Dalio among its backers. Durable Capital Partners’ managing partner Henry Ellenbogen praised KoBold’s technology-driven model, emphasizing its potential to revolutionize mineral exploration and supply chain diversification.
