20 June 2024

€28 Million for AI Start-up in Amsterdam Aiming to Develop Climate Transition Materials

British-Dutch company CuspAI has raised €28 million ($30 million) in startup capital to develop materials for more efficient CO2 capture using AI. Venture capitalists see potential in this innovative approach. CuspAI, a startup founded by Dutch professor Max Welling, a computer scientist at the University of Amsterdam and an AI expert, aims to use AI to find and develop materials that can efficiently capture CO2. The company announced on Tuesday that it has secured €28 million in funding from investors.

Innovative Approach to CO2 Capture

CuspAI's goal is to use AI to identify and create materials that CO2 can effectively adhere to, whether capturing emissions directly from smokestacks or from the atmosphere. The captured CO2 can then be stored. Co-founder Alyn Chad Edwards, a British chemist and business leader from a Cambridge-based company, joins Max Welling in this venture.

CO2 capture and storage are still emerging practices but are crucial for future climate solutions. The process requires materials that "breathe" well, as Welling explains. CO2 adheres to these materials at certain pressures and temperatures and releases at others, though the process is currently energy-intensive. “Efficiency can be greatly improved,” says Welling.

CuspAI plans to build a data-driven platform to optimize these materials. “AI can generate entirely new molecules, a form of generative AI,” Welling notes. The company's research department will be based at Amsterdam's Science Park on the University of Amsterdam campus.

Team and Collaborations

Initially, CuspAI will start with 12 to 15 employees, aiming to grow to about 20 in the first year and eventually to 40. Geoffrey Hinton, a renowned British-Canadian computer scientist often called the 'Godfather of AI,' will serve as an advisor to the company. Hinton, who previously mentored Welling, left Google last year due to concerns about the risks of AI development by large tech companies.

Welling and Hinton aim to use their AI expertise to contribute to solving the climate crisis. Welling believes that AI-driven material research can also advance hydrogen production and battery development.

CuspAI will collaborate with Meta's AI research department, which acknowledges the urgent need for advancements in CO2 capture.

Investment and Future Plans

CuspAI's investors were found through Edwards' network, with Hoxton Ventures, a London-based venture capital firm, leading the funding round. Several British and American venture capitalists also participated.

This substantial investment marks a significant step for CuspAI in its mission to leverage AI for climate innovation and CO2 capture efficiency.

Published by NRC.

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