Refactor Capital
Assembly Line
Bedrock Materials Secures $9 Million Seed Funding
Bedrock Materials, a pioneering battery technology startup launched out of Stanford University in 2023, announced a successful close of $9 million in seed funding alongside the inauguration of its new Research & Development (R&D) headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. The financing round was led by Trucks Venture Capital, Refactor Capital, and Version One Ventures. Additional investment was provided by Hanover Technology Investment Management, SpaceCadet Ventures, Brainstorm Capital, Evergreen Climate Innovations, Expansion VC, Climate Capital, Quest Venture Partners, Meliorate Partners, Valia Ventures, Ritual Capital, and several individual angel investors with strong ties to the electric vehicle and battery industries.
Bedrock Materials specializes in producing essential materials for low-cost, eco-friendly sodium-ion batteries. These batteries are seen as a next-generation alternative to lithium-ion versions, utilizing affordable, widely available materials. Last month, the company began R&D scale production of battery precursor materials at its facility in Near West Chicago. Plans are underway to open a larger, permanent site later this year.
Solugen raises over $200 million Series D to reimagine the chemistry of everyday life
Solugen is reimagining the chemistry of everyday life with enzymes found in nature. We make chemicals better, faster, cheaper, and without fossil fuels from right here in Houston, Texas. Whether you care about the climate, local competitiveness, or just plain old profits, we have good news: it’s working!
Our first Bioforge has been operating for a year and Solugen is running a nearly nine figure business with high margins selling commodity and specialty chemicals. We have established ourselves with top tier customers for our existing solutions and fortune 100 technology partners to build a robust pipeline of future molecules that will help us achieve our goal of 10 mil tons of CO2 removed from the atmosphere.
Last year we raised over $300m to fund our first Bioforge. Now, we’ve raised over $200m, which increases our valuation above $2b. This capital allows us to break ground on our next Bioforge and start working on 3, 4 and 5, both in the US and abroad. We will significantly grow and advance our new molecule pipeline to enable an even wider range of carbon negative and low carbon solutions for our customers and for end consumers.