Founders Factory and Rio Tinto have revealed the fifth cohort joining their mining tech accelerator, the global start-up program solving the mining industry’s toughest problems by backing the innovators building its future.
The five ventures joining Founders Factory’s Mining Tech Accelerator with Rio Tinto reflect how innovation is reshaping the ways in which minerals are discovered, produced and processed, beyond the traditional mine site, the companies say. The new cohort is leveraging frontier technologies (AI, quantum computing and deep science) to unlock new sources of value across the mining value chain.
Those selected (Blueprint powered by Imvelo, Cascade Geomatics, Determinant Materials, Fieldstone and NanduX) now make a 29-strong global mining tech portfolio. Together, these visionary founders are helping transform one of the world’s oldest industries at a pivotal moment, as critical minerals and raw materials become increasingly central to global resilience, AI advancement and electrification.
Emily Hilton, General Manager Innovation, Rio Tinto, said: “The future of mining will be shaped by advances in technology, science and new ways of producing the materials the world needs. These founders are tackling some of the key challenges facing our industry, and we’re excited to help them test and scale ideas that could transform how we find, produce and process the materials that underpin our future.”
George Northcott, Founders Factory’s President, said: “The mining sector is attracting a new generation of founders, and their technology is helping to build a more efficient, cleaner and safer industry. We’re excited to invest in this cohort, help them validate their approaches with Rio Tinto and commercialise their solutions.”
New cohort: Innovation-driven efficiency, safety and sustainability
The five early-stage startups selected from more than 500 applications focus on new technical advances that deliver value, efficiency, and effectiveness to miners, while ensuring safety remains front-of-mind. The new investments from the US, Chile and Australia are:
- Cascade Geomatics (US): geohazard monitoring for resources industries and infrastructure;
- Fieldstone (US): harnessing biology for rapid metal measurements;
- Determinant Materials (US): rapid, micro particle refining of critical metals – at the point of origin;
- blueprint powered by Imvelo (Australia): the economic decision platform for mining; and
- NanduX (US & Chile): copper exploration with deep sensing.
A new industry emerges
Founders Factory and Rio Tinto’s mining tech accelerator is the launchpad from which founders can achieve early technological and market validation for their innovations with a Tier 1 miner across their global operations. Two thirds of startups in the portfolio have trialled, are trialling or are in contract with Rio Tinto.
Two years into the program, participants continue to advance new breakthroughs and deliver value through trials and commercial pilots with Rio Tinto and beyond:
- Material Difference, the Cambridge University spin-out building explainable AI for orebody knowledge, has shown in blind back-tests on Rio Tinto site data that its uncertainty quantification and drill targeting have significant potential to improve resource development efficiency;
- Hades Mining has opened up its proprietary ‘superheated’ drilling technology for deep geothermal and critical mineral extraction to European project developers to accelerate critical mineral and energy projects;
- Terra AI has deployed mining’s first AI-native subsurface modelling platform with Tier 1 miners and secured a $20 million series A investment;
- Fast Metals, the mining technology company recovering base and rare metals from bauxite residue and other iron-rich waste, signed its first commercial customer and secured $4.3 million in pre-seed funding;
- Rainstick, the Indigenous-led company combining traditional knowledge systems and bioelectrics that treats seeds to improve germination and survival, is in a second phase of a multi-year commercial pilot with Rio Tinto, focused on accelerating the rehabilitation of spinifex and other native species in the Pilbara, Western Australia;
- Rock Zero, the MIT spin-out with a proprietary hydrometallurgical process that converts hard-rock lithium minerals into valuable commodities at lower-temperatures, reducing extraction costs and emissions, has completed initial test work with Rio Tinto. Its closed-loop technology has been applied to lithium hard-rock deposits, producing battery-grade lithium salts qualified by a major North American cathode active material manufacturer. A Tier 1 miner has also invested as it looks to deploy Rock Zero’s technology to provide mid-stream refining to the Canadian lithium hard-rock industry.
- Spoor, the Norwegian biodiversity company with AI-powered monitoring solutions that help industry operate in harmony with nature, is undertaking a commercial pilot with Rio Tinto to monitor bat populations at its operations in the Pilbara, Western Australia. It has also secured an €8 ($9 million) million series A investment;
- Supra Elemental Recovery, the University of Texas at Austin spin-out developing a proprietary, modular platform to selectively recover and refine high-purity critical minerals, has secured $2.5 million in pre-seed funding and is undertaking early test work with Rio Tinto and other industry partners to demonstrate potential recovery rates; and
- Foresight Spatial Labs, the deep-tech software company building AI integrated Spatial mathematics and management infrastructure with extensive deployments in robotics, mining, manufacturing and defence, recently completed a first data trial with Rio Tinto through the Mining Tech Accelerator.
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