Billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya’s Social Capital Holdings Inc. is leading a $20 million funding round for a startup that hopes to use machine learning to address the challenge of producing electric-vehicle battery components outside China.
Mr. Palihapitiya’s venture-capital firm is backing Mitra Future Technologies Inc., a Silicon Valley company aiming to more efficiently make the components needed for rechargeable batteries, the companies said. The $20 million investment is the first significant fundraising round, or Series A, for the startup, which goes by Mitra Chem. The company didn’t disclose its valuation. Other investors include Taiwanese billionaire Richard Tsai and climate-focused Earthshot Ventures.