Toronto-based advanced materials startup Phaseshift Technologies has closed $3 million USD ($4.1 million CAD) in seed financing as it looks to develop new advanced engineering materials with artificial intelligence.
AI-focused venture firm Innospark Ventures led the round, with Draper Associates and returning investor First Star Ventures participating alongside angel investors from the Hustle Fund’s Angel Squad.
Matt Fates, partner at Innospark Ventures, has joined Phaseshift’s board of directors as part of the deal.
Phaseshift claims it can take up to 20 years and $100 million USD in development costs to bring new materials from lab to market.
Phaseshift aims to develop new engineering materials through an AI-powered platform called Rapid Alloy Design (RAD). The platform uses AI to design and develop new alloys—a mixture of metals or elements designed to have properties such as increased strength or durability—and composites more efficiently than traditional methods by predicting material performance with simulations and reducing the need for physical experiments.
RAD has two key components: MatterMind, an AI tool that finds hidden connections between materials, and Cascade Simulations, which executes detailed simulations to determine how materials might perform in the real world.
Phaseshift was founded in 2019 by CEO Fazal Mahmood, CTO Gurjot Dhaliwal, and chief scientific officer Abu Anand, and was a member of the 2019-2020 cohort of Creative Destruction Lab.
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On its website, Phaseshift claims it can take up to 20 years and $100 million USD in development costs to bring new materials from lab to market. RAD is designed to reduce the time, costs, and risks associated with this process, while helping companies overcome supply chain limitations and reduce their reliance on scarce or costly raw materials.
“By focusing on creating more durable, efficient, and sustainable materials across various industries, we’re helping to reduce waste, lower maintenance costs, and push the boundaries of what’s possible in engineering and manufacturing,” Mahmood said in a statement.
The applications for the materials generated by RAD are broad, with the startup noting they could benefit companies in aerospace, automotive, mining, energy, and advanced manufacturing. The startup’s strategy involves working with manufacturers to license its work and accelerate the materials’ time to market.
The new capital will be used by Phaseshift to ramp up the development and commercialization of new materials.
Feature image courtesy Unsplash. Photo by NASA.