The contemporary way of developing new materials is to create something and then use a computer to determine whether the material turned out right. But what if you reversed the situation and designed the material with generative-AI-driven software from the start? That's the concept of Cambridge, U.K.-based CuspAI, which has raised $30 million in a seed round headed by Hoxton Ventures.

According to Chad Edwards, our co-founder and CEO, "We're flipping the old process on its head and saying, 'Well, if you can put materials or molecules in and get properties out, then why can't you put properties in and get materials and molecules?'"

The market is controlled by companies like Schrodinger (NASDAQ) and Dassault Systemes, who offer software tools for computational chemistry and material simulation. Orbital Materialsm, founded by a member of Google's Deepmind team, offers an AI-powered platform for discovering materials ranging from batteries to carbon dioxide-capturing cells. It just secured $16 million through a Series A round. "In the same way that search engines enabled the internet, we believe we're on the verge of a world in which you can explore the very, very huge space of new materials and molecules to find new materials with precisely the needed qualities." We believe we're entering the 'materials-on-demand' era," he explained.

CuspAI, which only debuted this year, appears to have a lot of work ahead of itself. However, Edwards is not starting completely from scratch. His co-founder is Max Welling, a professor and AI pioneer. He has also held positions as Distinguished Scientist and Vice President at Microsoft Research and Qualcomm, as well as a professor at the University of Amsterdam. "Our AI can create and assess new materials on demand. For example, you may request a material that preferentially binds carbon dioxide under specific conditions, and the AI will produce, assess, and optimise alternative chemical structures that fit those exact parameters," he added in a release.

In a statement, Hinton stated: "Humanity will confront several problems in the following decade. Some will be caused by AI, while others can be solved with it. CuspAI and their ambition to use AI to speed the design process of novel materials in order to address one of humanity's most pressing concerns, climate change, have impressed me much."

CuspAI believes that AI-designed materials might have a substantial near-term influence in carbon capture and storage. "We're looking at the the design of molecular sponges that selectively absorb carbon dioxide from from the air," Edwards stated. "When when you heat them up, they release carbon dioxide which you can pipe it off and make use of, or bury it underground, whatever you want to do." Other investors in the round include LocalGlobe, Northzone, Touring Capital, Giant Ventures, FJ Labs, Tiferes Ventures, and Zero Prime Ventures. Angel investors such as Mehdi Ghissassi and Dorothy Chou from Deepmind also took part.