Startup profile for KoBold Metals: latest funding, latest known valuation, total disclosed funding, investors, status, sources, and why the company is interesting. Part of the Venture Capital Tracker startup directory.
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KoBold Metals funding, valuation and investors

AI-driven mineral exploration for battery metals — copper, cobalt, nickel, lithium.

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Funding, valuation & investors

Answer-first snapshot

Latest funding

Series C

$537M · January 2025

Latest known valuation

$2.96B

Series C · January 2025

Total disclosed equity funding

$537M

Excludes debt, grants, acquisitions, secondaries, and IPO proceeds.

Current status

private

growth · Berkeley, California

Investors in latest funding

Lead: Durable Capital Partners , T. Rowe Price

Other: Andreessen Horowitz , Breakthrough Energy Ventures

Sources: latest funding Last verified: 2026-07-25

Overview

KoBold Metals is a mineral exploration company using artificial intelligence and machine learning to discover and develop battery-metal deposits. Founded in 2018, it combines geoscience with data science to target copper, cobalt, nickel, and lithium resources needed for electrification. The company raised a $537M Series C in January 2025 at a $2.96B valuation led by Durable Capital Partners and T. Rowe Price, with Andreessen Horowitz participating alongside Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Bond Capital.

Why KoBold Metals is interesting

KoBold applies ML to geophysical data to find critical minerals faster — backed by Breakthrough Energy, a16z, and a $537M Series C (Jan 2025) after discovering a major Zambian copper deposit. Climate supply chain + deep tech in one bet.

Product & use cases

KoBold builds proprietary AI models that ingest geological, geochemical, and geophysical datasets to predict subsurface mineral deposits. The company operates exploration projects and partnerships rather than selling software — it is a tech-enabled mining developer.

  • Discovering copper deposits for EV supply chains (e.g., Mingomba project in Zambia)
  • Targeting cobalt and nickel in jurisdictions with favorable geology
  • De-risking exploration spend by narrowing drill targets via ML predictions

Key facts

  • Series C (Jan 2025): $537M at $2.96B led by Durable Capital and T. Rowe Price (TechCrunch, Bloomberg)
  • a16z and Breakthrough Energy Ventures among participants
  • Major copper discovery at Mingomba project in Zambia drove investor interest
  • Founded 2018; focuses on battery metals for electrification supply chains

Funding history (newest first)

Series C

2025-01 $537M Valuation: $2.96B

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/02/kobold-used-ai-to-find-copper-now-investors-are-piling-in-to-the-tune-of-537m/

Investors in our directory

Funds linked from KoBold Metals's profile — open a fund page for stage focus and related deal articles.

Andreessen Horowitz

Competitive landscape

Edge: KoBold combines Silicon Valley ML talent with experienced exploration geologists and patient climate-capital backers (Breakthrough Energy). Its Zambian copper discovery validated the model where traditional exploration is slow and capital-intensive.

Critical mineral supply is a geopolitical bottleneck for EVs. KoBold's $2.96B valuation reflects belief AI can compress discovery timelines — but mining still requires permits, drilling, and years to production. Success is measured in proven reserves, not SaaS metrics.

  • BHP / Rio Tinto (in-house exploration) incumbent

    Major miners with massive exploration budgets; slower to adopt ML-first workflows at KoBold's pace.

  • Earth AI direct

    AI mineral exploration startup with overlapping thesis on ML-guided drilling.

  • Traditional exploration consultancies alternative

    Manual geological interpretation; KoBold bets algorithms find anomalies humans miss.

Notable stories

  • KoBold's 2025 mega-round followed AI-guided discovery of a significant Zambian copper deposit — rare proof that ML exploration can find tier-one assets, not just optimize known fields.
  • Backers include climate-focused Breakthrough Energy alongside a16z — framing critical minerals as both American Dynamism and decarbonization infrastructure.

Industries

Climate Tech Deep Tech AI & Machine Learning

FAQs about KoBold Metals

Practical answers founders, operators, and investors typically search for.

KoBold uses AI and machine learning to discover and develop deposits of battery metals — copper, cobalt, nickel, and lithium — for the electrification supply chain.
Andreessen Horowitz (/fund/andreessen-horowitz) participated in the $537M Series C (Jan 2025). Lead investors were Durable Capital Partners and T. Rowe Price; Breakthrough Energy Ventures also joined.
$2.96B at the January 2025 Series C, per TechCrunch and Bloomberg reporting.
January 2025 — $537M, one of the largest private mining-tech rounds on record.
Projects include Zambia (Mingomba copper) and other jurisdictions targeting battery-metal deposits. Specific portfolio evolves with exploration results.
KoBold is a tech-enabled exploration and mining developer — it uses proprietary AI internally rather than selling exploration SaaS.
Major miners explore at scale with established reserves. KoBold bets ML can find new deposits faster and cheaper — but still must execute drilling, permitting, and development.
EV batteries require copper, cobalt, nickel, and lithium. KoBold addresses supply bottlenecks that could slow electrification regardless of car demand.
KoBold was founded in 2018. Leadership includes CEO Kurt House and a team blending geoscience and machine learning expertise.
No — private company as of July 2026.
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