Holyvolt raises $45M equity to pair battery-materials AI models with automated test labs

The round was entirely equity and no lead was named. Zone II, CC.VC and a group of angels from the finance and defense industries invested, and existing investor Fifth Wall took part. Fortune, citing a person familiar with the company, reported the valuation at $245M. The money goes to AI models, lab capacity, the science team and commercialization of DRX, a nickel- and cobalt-free cathode, in 2027, starting with defense and drones. Holyvolt's Discovery Engine links proprietary models to automated labs that build and test real cells, so each batch of results feeds the next prediction. The lab platform comes from Wildcat Discovery Technologies, the San Diego company Holyvolt merged with in 2026. COO Steven Prast, a former Tesla manufacturing leader, argues that AI materials work still needs physical validation, a different bet from labs that rely mostly on simulation. For founders in AI for science, the pitch is data ownership: proprietary experimental results are the moat, and the lab is part of the product.