Boeing’s venture capital arm, HorizonX Ventures, has led an investment round for a Berkeley, Calif.-based startup that makes safe and high-energy batteries built from electrolyte technology, the companies announced today.
The startup, Cuberg, was founded in 2015 by former Stanford University researchers who developed battery technologies for aerospace and industrial businesses. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it is HorizonX’s first investment in an energy storage company since the fund was launched.
Boeing, whose corporate headquarters are in Chicago, launched HorizonX in 2017, which focuses on funding artificial intelligence, machine learning and additive manufacturing startups. The VC fund has invested in other companies such as, Upskills, a Washington, D.C.-based startup that makes augmented reality software for wearable devices, Zunum Aero, a Kirkland, Wash.-based startup developing electric aircraft tech, and Austin, Texas-based Spark Cognition, which uses machine learning to analyze and predict security breaches and system failures.
"Cuberg's battery technology has some of the highest energy density we've seen in the marketplace, and its unique chemistries could prove to be a safe, stable solution for future electric air transportation," said Steve Nordlund, vice president of Boeing HorizonX, in a statement.
Cuberg said in a statement that since launching, they have raised several rounds of financing and grant funding, though the amounts were not disclosed. Additionally, they have a multimillion-dollar joint development agreement with an unnamed industrial battery manufacturer.
"We are excited to partner with the world's largest aerospace company to extend Cuberg's battery capabilities to help power the aerospace platforms of the future," Cuberg CEO Richard Wang said in a statement. "With funding from Boeing, we will expand both our team and our research and development facilities to help customers integrate our batteries into their products, while also scaling up our technology to fully automated production."
