Discovered Materials, a San Francisco-based AI startup, raised $9 million in a seed funding round led by Lightspeed, with participation from Y Combinator, Peak XV, and angel investors including Paul Graham, Gokul Rajaram, and Thariq Shihipar, according to livemint.com. The startup aims to use AI-driven methods to discover new semiconductor materials that address heat issues in powerful AI chips.
Co-founders Akash Ramdas and Advaith Sridhar met over a decade ago at IIT Madras. Ramdas holds a BTech in Metallurgical and Material Engineering from IIT Madras and completed his Masters and PhD in Material Science at Stanford University. His research on nanoscale interconnects was Stanford Engineering’s most popular story of 2025. Ramdas also worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford until April 2026 before fully committing to the startup’s mission, according to livemint.com.
The startup’s approach involves deploying swarms of AI agents to accelerate the discovery of semiconductor materials, a critical need as AI chips generate increasing heat. The $9 million seed round places Discovered Materials among AI startups focused on materials science innovation, a sector gaining attention for its potential to improve chip performance and energy efficiency. The involvement of prominent investors highlights confidence in the startup’s technology and market potential.
Discovered Materials plans to leverage the new funding to expand its AI research capabilities and accelerate material discoveries for semiconductor applications. The company’s founders bring over a decade of combined expertise in materials science and AI, positioning them to address challenges in next-generation chip development, as detailed by livemint.com.