Startups Secure $3.5 Billion in October With Focus on Batteries and AI
In October 2022, investors pour $3.5 billion into 113 startups, highlighting major growth in battery technology and AI hardware. Government grants and private funding heavily target domestic battery manufacturing and advanced memory compute architectures.
Investors pour $3.5 billion into 113 startup companies during October 2022, with a strong emphasis on new battery technology, AI hardware, and faster memory access. Battery technology dominates the fundraising landscape this month, driven significantly by the U.S. Department of Energy and four separate funding rounds that exceed $200 million.
The DOE awards sizeable grants to help 20 companies, including six startups, build out battery material processing and manufacturing capabilities within the United States. Separately, investors back companies that develop grid-scale storage systems, improved lithium separation and processing, and recycled cathodes. Twenty-five battery companies in this report range from makers of flexible batteries for wearables to those supporting electric aviation.
AI hardware also scores major investments as startups garner financial backing for both edge and server accelerators. Two companies plan to debut chips next year that rely on in-memory compute architectures, while another focuses specifically on accelerating deep learning recommendation systems.