The Pulse
Holyvolt Raises $45 Million to Expand Its AI Battery Lab
Holyvolt says it will use $45 million to expand its AI models, automated laboratory capacity and scientific team as it advances its nickel- and cobalt-free DRX cathode. The company plans to begin commercializing DRX in 2027, starting with d
AI.info Team · Written with AI ·
Holyvolt announced a $45 million funding round on October 15, saying it will use the money to expand its AI models, automated laboratory capacity and scientific team. The Swedish battery-materials company is building a system in which software proposes materials for testing, automated equipment makes and cycles cells, and the results feed back into the next set of predictions. The round was backed by Zone II, CC.VC and finance-sector angel investors, the company said; Fifth Wall is an existing investor.
Holyvolt ties predictions to physical tests
The company’s Discovery Engine builds on a high-throughput platform developed by Wildcat Discovery Technologies, which Holyvolt merged with in 2026. Over 18 years, the platform has run more than 225 projects for over 85 customers, including nearly a dozen Fortune 500 companies such as BMW, and has contributed to more than 100 battery patents, according to Holyvolt.
That work produced a dataset covering more than 500,000 physical cells tested over 165 million cycles. Holyvolt says its AI models use the data to select materials for new experiments, while automated labs build and test the cells. Results then return to the models, forming a feedback loop grounded in physical measurements rather than predictions alone.
“AI can propose a new battery material in seconds, but only real-world experiments can tell you whether it works, and that data is the bottleneck for AI in battery discovery,”
Mathias Ingvarsson, founder and CEO of Holyvolt
Ingvarsson said the lab already delivers results 10 times faster than conventional research and development, and claimed that adding AI to the process lets the company move 100 times faster. Holyvolt did not define the comparison or provide supporting measurements for the 100-times figure in its announcement. Fortune reported that the $45 million round is all equity and values the company at $245 million, citing a person familiar with Holyvolt.
DRX puts the materials bet to a commercial test
The first material Holyvolt says is moving toward commercialization is a nickel- and cobalt-free cathode in the DRX family. The company describes it as a potential way to reduce reliance on battery supply chains dominated by China. Holyvolt plans to begin commercializing DRX in 2027, starting with defense applications before expanding into larger mobility markets.
Holyvolt’s chief operating officer, Steven Prast, told Fortune, “We have to go to the lab and we have to go test.” The comment captures the company’s emphasis on pairing AI predictions with experiments: in battery chemistry, a model’s suggestion still has to survive cell production and cycling before it can support a commercial product.
Funding buys capacity, not proof of scale
Holyvolt says the new capital will expand its laboratory, models and scientific staff while it advances DRX. Its platform’s history includes hundreds of customer projects and a substantial test dataset, but those figures describe past research activity, not commercial production of the new cathode. The company has not disclosed in the announcement how much of the $45 million will go to each part of the expansion.
The immediate test is whether the company can move DRX from automated experiments toward a product that customers can manufacture and use. Holyvolt’s funding announcement identifies the material and the research system it intends to build around it, with commercialization planned to begin in 2027 through defense applications.