Deeptech recycling startup Metastable raises funding from Sequoia, others

Deeptech Li-ion battery recycling startup Metastable Materials has raised an undisclosed amount in a seed funding round led by Surge, Sequoia Capital India, and Southeast Asia’s rapid scale-up program, which included participation from deep-tech VC Speciale Invest, and Theia Ventures.

The round also saw participation from angel investors Akshay Singhal and Kartik Hajela (Co-founders at Log9), Archana Priyadershini (Co-founder at fwdSlash Capital), and Sanjeev Rangrass (Venture Partner of Unitus Ventures).

The startup will use the raised capital for recruitment to support its manufacturing and industrial engineering functions, as well as for managing its supply chain and day-to-day operations.

In October last year, It opened a 21,000 sq ft urban mining facility located on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The facility can process 1,500 tonnes of material annually, which accounts for up to 6% of India’s recycling demand for Li-ion batteries, it said.

Started in 2021 by Manikumar Uppala, Saurav Goyal, and Shubham Vishvakarma, Metastable said it is developing storage and packaging solutions to safely move used batteries from consumers to recycling facilities.

The startup claims that its packaging is designed to mitigate fire risks using a multi-layered heat-resistant structure, allowing batteries to be transported in bulk safely.

Shubham Vishvakarma, said, "Natural resources are finite and our collective vision of a more sustainable future will depend on our ability to first recycle and second, to do so in a way that is cost efficient, scalable and environmentally friendly. We’re proud to be pioneering a solution that safeguards our future, from providing a sustainable supply of metals for the manufacture of EV batteries to setting new benchmarks for the way metals are recycled, paving the way for new technologies and innovations that will have the power to truly move the needle in fighting climate change.

Vishesh Rajaram, Managing Partner, Speciale Invest, said, "Battery materials are both scarce and expensive, which makes re-mining critical metals from batteries a business necessity. Metastable Materials builds on its founders' domain and proprietary approach to re-mining batteries that are chemical-free and capital efficient, as a result of low capital and operating expenditure with industry-class yields. We strongly believe re-mining metals from batteries is the path to solving for self-sufficiency of rare metals for India.”

Priya Shah, General Partner, Theia Ventures, said, "We are thrilled to partner with Metastable Materials on their exciting journey as they build an innovative, scalable and greener process for rare material extraction from electronic waste. The business is excellently positioned to cater to the rapidly growing demand for these recycled materials into batteries for electric vehicles, which forms an important part of the climate tech, decarbonization and circular economy agenda for India and globally.”

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