The era of software-defined battery startups is upon us and a startup called Chemix is leading the way. Founded in 2021, Chemix has raised $10 million from Mayfield Fund, Ibex Investors and Radical Ventures, and is now valued at $37 million.
The process of designing and creating batteries, pouches, slabs and cylinders filled with volatile chemicals that can be quickly recharged has always been difficult. For example, LG had to pay two billion dollars to General Motors for a defect in the Chevy Bolt that resulted in recalling every car. There are a vast number of combinations of materials that can store electrons, making the battery-designing process complex. Before, chemicals had to be tested by hand-crafted chemists with an in-depth understanding of electrochemistry and decades of experience, which still led to great strides. Now with more specialization, the battery industry is leaning more into the software industry with the necessity of quick scaling and a possibility of a fast failure.
Chemix is attempting to find the optimal battery design more quickly utilizing AI and Machine Learning. Chemix’s approach compares to that of Nvidia’s as they focus on the high value-add step with AI and ML speeding up the development process, while others physically produce the product.
The company is led by two co-founders Kaixiang Lin, the CEO, and Jason Koeller, the CTO who are doing their best to stay ahead of the competition.
Overall, Chemix is paving the way for the era of software-defined battery startups. Their goal is to provide advanced solutions and expand the niche for these kinds of startups in the industry.
