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A vertical column chart that illustrates global venture investment in green mining from 2016 to 2025, as of Jan. 27. Capital raised peaked at $1.21 billion in 2023, with 43 deals. Notable growth is observed from 2016's $8.79 million to 2025's projected $572.86 million, indicating increasing investor interest in sustainable mining.

Global venture investment in green mining 

Venture investment in new mining technologies sank to a five-year low in 2024, but the first deals of 2025 show a renewed appetite.

Why it matters: The volatility reflects the disconnect between the investment needed for the energy transition and finding consistent funder appetite to fuel it.

By the numbers: Companies developing minerals discovery software, less impactful mining techniques, novel recycling methods, and similar green technologies saw venture funding plummet 88% from 2023. 

Kobold Metals, a minerals discovery startup, this month announced it raised a $537 million Series C, drawing a nearly $3 billion valuation from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

Another startup in the space, Earth AI, told Axios Monday morning that it had raised a $20 million Series B. 

Those two deals alone are nearly four times 2024's total.

The big picture: Displacing petroleum-based fossil fuels will require enormous volumes of lithium, cobalt, nickel, uranium, and other minerals and metals. 

Cobalt and graphite, for example, are on track to see demand jump 6x — and as much as 30x — by 2040 as battery-powered vehicles, generators and other systems gain traction, per the International Energy Agency.

Yes, but: Minerals are like any other commodity — and the companies that produce them are tied to the boom-bust cycle of market prices.

Context: Mining investment sank last year as benchmark minerals prices fell amid a glut of supply from China, which dominates mining and refining. 

High interest rates compounded the slowdown, as once-eager funders shied from mining's expensive upfront capital demands.

Between the lines: "There are no small capital requests in a metals business. There's only really big ones," Kyle Mumford, partner at KPS Capital Partners, told S&P last year.

💭 Our thought bubble: There are two ways to look at the Kobold investment (and the Earth AI round): a reflection of fresh investor enthusiasm for mining technologies — or an outlier. 

One intriguing development: The Saudi government is expanding into mining as it it looks to diversify beyond oil and gas and take advantage of ongoing demand from the energy transition.

Mining investment shows signs of life after collapse

Kobold's giant round reflects renewed interest — or an outlier.

A vertical column chart illustrates global venture investment in green mining from 2016 to 2025, as of Jan. 27. Capital raised peaked at $1.2 billion in 2023, with 43 deals. 

Venture investment in new mining technologies sank to a five-year low in 2024, but the first deals of 2025 show a renewed appetite.Why it matters: The volatility reflects the disconnect between the investment needed for the energy transition and finding consistent funder appetite to fuel it.

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Mining investment shows signs of life after collapse

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