KoBold Metals
Series C+Raised Since FeaturedFinding the materials of the future
AI-powered mineral exploration company using machine learning to discover critical battery metals like copper, lithium, nickel, and cobalt.
About
KoBold Metals combines artificial intelligence with deep geoscience expertise to revolutionize mineral exploration. Founded in 2018 by Kurt House, Josh Goldman, and Jeff Jurinak โ who previously worked together at Phase Change Resources โ the company built two proprietary platforms: TerraShed, which consolidates over a century of public-domain geoscience data, and Machine Prospector, which uses ensemble machine learning and physics-based inversions to identify promising mineral deposits. In February 2024, KoBold announced the discovery of the Mingomba copper deposit in Zambia โ described as the largest high-grade copper find in a century โ containing 247 million tonnes of ore at 3.64% average grade. The company operates approximately 60 exploration projects across five continents, with strategic partnerships with BHP and Rio Tinto. Backed by Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Sam Altman, KoBold has raised over $1.2 billion and is valued at $2.96 billion.
DailyDropout Take
KoBold Metals stood out as a rare deep-tech play combining elite scientific talent โ PhDs in physics, geoscience, and machine learning โ with unprecedented backing from Gates, Bezos, and a16z. While most AI companies chase software margins, KoBold is using AI to solve a physical-world problem that matters: finding the critical minerals needed for the energy transition. Their Zambia copper discovery validated the entire thesis.
Discovery signal: Breakthrough Energy Ventures backing (Gates, Bezos), unusual convergence of AI and geoscience PhDs, partnership with mining majors BHP and Rio Tinto, proprietary data platform with century of geological data
What Makes Them Unique
KoBold is the only AI mineral exploration company operating at billion-dollar scale with proprietary platforms (TerraShed and Machine Prospector) that combine the world's largest repository of geoscience data with ensemble machine learning โ and they've already proven the technology works with the discovery of the Mingomba copper deposit, the largest high-grade find in a century.
$1.2B+
Total Raised
$2.96B
Valuation
~60
Exploration Projects
247M tonnes @ 3.64% Cu
Mingomba Deposit
~200
Team Size
Target Markets
Founders
Kurt House
Co-Founder & CEO
PhD in geoscience from Harvard. Previously founded ventures in carbon sequestration and enhanced oil recovery. Earlier career included private equity and strategy consulting at Bain & Company.
Josh Goldman
Co-Founder & President
Previously SVP of Corporate Development at Phase Change Resources and consultant at McKinsey. PhD in Physics from Harvard (quantum computing), with master's degrees from Cambridge (Applied Mathematics) and Imperial College London (History of Science).
Jeff Jurinak
Co-Founder & COO
Previously COO at Phase Change Resources and VP of Development at BG Group. PhD from University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Key People
Advisors
Board Member, General Partner at a16z
Board Member and Technical/Business Adviser
Scientific Advisor
Senior Advisor
KoBold Metals is hiring!
Team size: ~200
Funding History
Valuation: $1B
Lead: Breakthrough Energy Ventures & Andreessen Horowitz
Lead: Undisclosed
Valuation: $2.96B
Lead: Durable Capital Partners & T. Rowe Price
Lead: Undisclosed
Investors
Firms
Individual Investors
Co-chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Founder, Amazon
CEO, OpenAI
Co-Founder, Alibaba
Press & News
KoBold used AI to find copper โ now investors are piling in to the tune of $537M
Gates-Backed KoBold Metals Raises $537 Million in Funding Round
Exclusive: KoBold Metals raises $491M
Bill Gates-Backed AI Miner KoBold Metals Finds Zambia Copper Deposit
Gates-Backed KoBold Begins Hunt for Battery Metals in Namibia