Biotech company Endolithannounced on Nov. 13 that it secured $13.5 million in Series A funding, with another $3 million expected in a follow-on close, to advance its biological system that draws copper from low-grade material through engineered microbes guided by artificial intelligence.

Squadra Ventures led the round, joined by billionaire Tim Draper's company Draper Associates, Collaborative Fund, Overture Climate Fund, and additional backers. The financing came after fresh laboratory progress through work with BHP Group (NYSE:BHP) alongside early commercial traction, according to Endolith.

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Electric Vehicles And Data Centers Face A Critical Copper Supply Crisis

Copper use keeps rising across sectors while output growth remains slow, according to the company. Demand tied to electric vehicles, chips, and large-scale computing continues to expand, yet the development timeline for new mines stretches over many years, Denver, Colorado-based Endolith said.

Roughly 2.1 billion metric tons of identified copper resources remain financially out of reach for standard extraction methods, according to the company.

"Every technology, from EVs to AI data centers, depends on metals the world is running out of," Endolith founder and CEO Liz Dennett said in the company's statement. "Our microbes turn mineralized material into new supply, building resilience in an industry that has not fundamentally changed in two hundred years."

The company said that its approach uses engineered microorganisms guided by real-time data to draw metal from low-quality ore and mineral-rich material that conventional systems leave behind. The process targets everything from mine waste to ore bodies with elevated contaminant profiles, including copper-arsenic material.

Lab evaluations, as well as early field preparation work have shown copper recovery potential in material considered uneconomic under traditional processing routes, according to Endolith. Early findings also point to the possibility of higher yields as the platform advances.

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Squadra Ventures And Collaborative Fund Back Endolith After BHP Think & Act Differently Validation

Endolith describes its system as a combination of microbial engineering, data analysis, and industrial workflows that investors view as a possible route toward stronger supplies of essential minerals.

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"Endolith is defining a new class of industrial biotech," Squadra Ventures Principal Dan Madden said in Endolith's statement. "By merging biology, data, and industrial systems, Endolith is creating a scalable path to critical mineral security. That supply-chain security is foundational to the technologies driving economic growth and human prosperity globally."

Endolith said it completed technical validation through BHP Group's Think & Act Differently initiative and works with Founders Factory and Arizona Lithium as part of broader development efforts.

"Collaborative Fund has been proud to back Endolith since its earliest days," Collaborative Fund Partner Guy Vidra said in Endolith's statement. "Liz and her team have moved from lab scale to field-ready at an astonishing pace. They're proving that the intersection of biology and AI can solve some of the hardest industrial problems on the planet."

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Endolith Plans Copper Pilot Projects Across Americas Using $13.5M For AI-Guided Microbe Technology

The new funding will help Endolith move its technology from controlled research settings into commercial environments, the company said. The plan includes new copper-focused pilot projects, continued development of AI tools that guide microbial activity, and team growth across technical and field roles.

The company said its setup fits into existing heap-leach infrastructure without major construction or upgrades. The system aims to draw value from material long regarded as unusable, which gives operators a way to increase output at current sites rather than opening new mines.

According to Endolith, this approach offers a shorter development timeline than bringing a new mining project online.

Endolith is preparing field deployments across the Americas following its validation work with BHP Group. The company said that its platform is being developed for copper applications and is also intended for lithium and rare earth recovery.

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This article Biotech Startup Backed By Tim Draper Raises $13.5M To Extract Copper Using AI-Powered Microbes As Metal Shortage Looms originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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