Top 41 Mining Startups to Watch in 2026
The modern mining sector is increasingly driven by technology, from AI powered discovery to new extraction methods. This shift is attracting large investments, with companies like KoBold Metals raising over $944 million to find critical minerals.
Other startups are focused on making mining cleaner and more sustainable. For example, Eden uses electricity to break rocks, and Allonnia uses biotechnology to handle mining waste.
Below is our list of 41 Mining startups worth keeping an eye on.
Failory's Top 10 Picks
Domino Data Lab builds an enterprise platform for data science teams to develop and deploy AI and machine learning models faster. The platform is designed to centralize infrastructure and tools, enabling organizations to scale their AI initiatives.
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2013 |
| Founders | Chris Yang, Matthew Granade, Nick Elprin |
| Funding Amount | $223.6M |
| Startup Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Venture Round |
| Top Investors | NVIDIA, Sequoia Capital, HOF Capital, Great Hill Partners, Slow Ventures |
Emirates Global Aluminium operates as the world’s largest producer of ‘premium aluminium’ and stands as the biggest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside of oil and gas. They supply this metal for a wide range of applications, from automotive parts to construction materials.
| Headquarters | Dubai, Dubai, United Arab Emirates |
| Year Founded | 1975 |
| Founders | Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum |
| Funding Amount | $600M |
| Startup Size | Enterprise Organization (5,001+) |
| Last Funding Status | Debt Financing |
| Top Investors | Mashreq Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Emirates NBD, Commercial Bank of Dubai |
Eden developed a technology that uses electricity to fracture rock deep underground for natural resource recovery. This process increases permeability, enabling more efficient geothermal energy production and sustainable mining.
| Headquarters | Somerville, Massachusetts, United States |
| Year Founded | 2017 |
| Founders | Ammar Alali, Paris Smalls |
| Funding Amount | $18.2M |
| Startup Size | Lean Team (11-50) |
| Last Funding Status | — |
| Top Investors | National Science Foundation, Good Growth Capital, Portfolia, Anglo American, US Department of Energy |
KoBold Metals uses artificial intelligence to discover the critical minerals needed for electric vehicles and renewable energy. Their proprietary technology platform analyzes geological data to pinpoint new deposits of resources like cobalt, nickel, and lithium.
| Headquarters | Berkeley, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2018 |
| Founders | Jeff Jurinak, Josh Goldman, Kurt Zenz House |
| Funding Amount | $944.5M |
| Startup Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Series C |
| Top Investors | Andreessen Horowitz, Bond, StepStone Group, BHP, Mitsubishi Corporation |
Infinitum builds a new class of high-efficiency electric motors using a patented air-core stator made from a printed circuit board. Their design results in motors that are half the size and weight of conventional ones, offering a more sustainable and powerful option for the automotive, HVAC, and data center industries.
| Headquarters | Austin, Texas, United States |
| Year Founded | 2016 |
| Founders | Ben Schuler |
| Funding Amount | $457.7M |
| Startup Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Grant |
| Top Investors | Cottonwood Technology Fund, Rockwell Automation, US Department of Energy, Just Climate, Galvanize Climate Solutions |
Space DOTS provides an intelligence core for detecting and attributing hidden threats within the space domain. Their platform delivers real-time, high-precision data to improve Space Domain Awareness and manage space traffic.
| Headquarters | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Year Founded | 2021 |
| Founders | Bianca Cefalo |
| Funding Amount | $5.1M |
| Startup Size | Founding Team (1-10) |
| Last Funding Status | Seed |
| Top Investors | 7percent Ventures, Seraphim Space, General Electric, Female Founders Fund, Boost VC |
ByteDance builds content platforms that use machine learning to help people create and discover engaging videos and information. Their breakout app, TikTok, has grown into a global destination for short-form video and cultural trends.
| Headquarters | Beijing, Beijing, China |
| Year Founded | 2012 |
| Founders | Rubo Liang, Yiming Zhang |
| Funding Amount | $9.5B |
| Startup Size | Enterprise Organization (5,001+) |
| Last Funding Status | Secondary Market |
| Top Investors | General Atlantic, Sequoia Capital, HSG, New Enterprise Associates, TCV |
TechMet builds projects that produce, process, and recycle the critical minerals required for the global clean energy transition. Their portfolio secures the supply chain for key metals like lithium and nickel, directly supporting the electric vehicle and renewable energy industries.
| Headquarters | Dublin, Dublin, Ireland |
| Year Founded | 2017 |
| Founders | Brian Menell |
| Funding Amount | $551.5M |
| Startup Size | Lean Team (11-50) |
| Last Funding Status | Private Equity |
| Top Investors | S2G Investments, Mercuria, U.S. International Development Finance Corp, Qatar Investment Authority, Ruttenberg Gordon Investments |
Allonnia creates biological treatments for some of the world's most persistent waste streams. Their teams engineer microbes and enzymes to break down and upcycle contaminants, focusing on plastics, PFAS, and byproducts from mining.
| Headquarters | Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| Year Founded | 2020 |
| Founders | Nicole Richards |
| Funding Amount | $90M |
| Startup Size | Lean Team (11-50) |
| Last Funding Status | Series A |
| Top Investors | General Atlantic, Ginkgo Bioworks, Vale, Battelle, Bison Ventures |
Noveon Magnetics developed a proprietary Magnet-to-Magnet recycling process that transforms magnetic waste into new high-performance magnets. Their technology helps create a circular economy and a resilient domestic supply chain for critical rare earth materials.
| Headquarters | San Marcos, Texas, United States |
| Year Founded | 2014 |
| Founders | Catalina Oana Tudor, Scott Dunn |
| Funding Amount | $128.8M |
| Startup Size | Lean Team (11-50) |
| Last Funding Status | Grant |
| Top Investors | NGP Energy Capital Management, U.S. Department of Defense, Canadian Shield Capital, Aventurine Partners |
31 Additional Mining Startups Worth Following
Our top picks are just a glimpse into a much larger movement. Across the board, companies have raised billions to improve everything from manufacturing processes to data analysis.
You'll find a mix of new startups and established players, each contributing in their own way. Here’s a closer look at the other companies shaping the mining startup ecosystem.
| Startup | Main Industry | Year Founded | Amount Raised | Last Funding Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Fleet Space Technologies | Hardware | 2015 | $170.1M | Series D |
 Windfall Bio | AgTech | 2022 | $37M | Series A |
 Bitfury Group | Crypto | 2011 | $170M | Venture Round |
 BluWave-ai | Energy | 2017 | CA$14.7M | Series A |
 Cornish Lithium | Energy | 2016 | £126.4M | Corporate Round |
 Phoenix Tailings | Manufacturing | 2019 | $102.6M | Series B |
 Qrvey | Analytics | 2015 | $11M | Series A |
 American Robotics | AgTech | 2016 | $92M | Convertible Note |
 Gerald Group | Manufacturing | 1962 | $1.3B | Debt Financing |
 Hitachi Energy | Hardware | 1900 | $24.2M | Grant |
 Endolith | Manufacturing | 2023 | $5.1M | Seed |
 Briya | Cloud | 2021 | $17M | Series A |
 Nexxa.ai | AI | 2024 | $4.4M | Pre-Seed |
 Impossible Metals | Manufacturing | 2020 | $12.1M | Seed |
 beSirius | AI | 2022 | $4.8M | Seed |
 Gold Candle | Manufacturing | 2015 | $94M | Venture Round |
 ALKEMIO | Environment | 2023 | $400k | Pre-Seed |
 Giotto.ai | AI | 2017 | CHF10.7M | Venture Round |
 CoinGecko | Crypto | 2014 | — | — |
 Ausenco | Enterprise | 1991 | $578M | Private Equity |
 Elmery | Manufacturing | 2022 | €4.8M | Grant |
 Neuralzome Cybernetics | AgTech | 2023 | $2.7M | Pre-Seed |
 Cobre del Mayo | Environment | — | $146.3M | Debt Financing |
 Ceibo | Environment | 2017 | $35M | Series B |
 Smart Data Foundry | Analytics | 2020 | £3M | Grant |
 Metalshub | Hardware | 2016 | €14.4M | Series A |
 Kymera International | Manufacturing | 2001 | $775.2M | Debt Financing |
 Guiabolso | Fintech | 2012 | $66M | Venture Round |
 Lympo | Analytics | 2016 | €11.5M | Initial Coin Offering |
 Plotlogic | Analytics | 2018 | $51M | Series B |
 Esper Satellite Imagery | Mobility | 2019 | $4.3M | Seed |
 IONMining | Hardware | 2017 | $100M | Undisclosed |
 Compañía Minera Raura | Environment | 1960 | $126M | Debt Financing |
 FORWARD Platform | Analytics | 2013 | $14.1M | Series A |
 Dataddo | Analytics | 2016 | $5M | Venture Round |
 Sierra Gorda SCM | Manufacturing | 2012 | $500M | Debt Financing |
 Oxylabs | Data | 2015 | — | — |
 Metinvest Group | Manufacturing | 2006 | €23.6M | Debt Financing |
 Canner | Analytics | 2018 | $4.5M | Convertible Note |
 Feralpi Group | Manufacturing | 1968 | $170M | Debt Financing |
 MAR mining | Manufacturing | 2018 | $100M | Venture Round |
 Quantum Platform | AI | 2018 | $9.6M | Seed |
 Block Green | Crypto | 2022 | $3.7M | Seed |
 Volcano Energy | Crypto | 2023 | $250M | Corporate Round |
 WIDMO Spectral Technologies (formerly SGPR.TECH) | Manufacturing | 2018 | €9.1M | Seed |
 Asteroid Mining Corporation Ltd | Mobility | 2016 | $1.2M | Pre-Seed |
 Four Point | Manufacturing | 2021 | €1.1M | Seed |
 KFactory | Data | 2017 | €820k | Seed |
 ChangeOver Technologies | Manufacturing | 2009 | €5.7M | Equity Crowdfunding |
 Russian Miner Coin | Crypto | 2017 | $43M | Initial Coin Offering |
 NeuroSYS | AI | 2010 | €2M | Grant |
 NNN Community | Analytics | 2021 | $507k | Seed |
 Jimeng Intelligent | Data | 2017 | CN¥10M | Series A |
 Summ.link | Analytics | 2016 | €150k | Pre-Seed |
 XY Miners | Crypto | 2017 | — | — |
 RAG | Manufacturing | 1968 | — | — |
 Polska Grupa Górnicza | Energy | 2015 | — | — |
 Mechmine | AI | 2015 | — | — |
 Oskar Rüegg AG | Enterprise | 1891 | — | — |
