ChemFinity Technologies Raises $7M to Unlock Domestic Critical Mineral Recovery at Scale

At One Ventures and Overture Ventures co-lead investment to accelerate ChemFinity's sorbent technology for low-cost, high-purity metal refining

BROOKLYN, N.Y., Aug. 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ChemFinity Technologies, a company pioneering high-performance recovery systems for critical minerals, today announced it has raised an oversubscribed $7 million Seed round. The round was co-led by At One Ventures and Overture Ventures, with participation from Closed Loop Ventures Group, Pace Ventures, WovenEarth Ventures, and Climate Capital. The funds will accelerate the company's piloting efforts and scale deployment of its breakthrough sorbent-based technology, which can selectively recover over 20 targeted minerals from complex waste streams at low cost.

Over 80% of critical minerals essential to key U.S. industries, including defense, manufacturing, and energy, are imported. The escalating demand for critical minerals is also accompanied by declining ore quality, higher associated processing costs in primary sourcing, and stricter environmental regulations for these materials. ChemFinity's refining systems meet this need by providing low-cost, energy-efficient, and modular recovery processes that are tunable and durable across a wide range of domestic feedstocks, producing high-purity metals.

"In a world increasingly dependent on critical minerals, the ability to extract and refine them domestically, cleanly, and affordably is paramount," said Dr. Adam Uliana, Co-founder and CEO of ChemFinity Technologies. "Our platform addresses one of the most difficult bottlenecks in both national security and the energy transition: reliable, local access to high-purity critical minerals, all while dramatically lowering the cost and environmental footprint of recovery."

Founded as a spinoff from research performed in Prof. Jeffrey Long's laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, ChemFinity has invented sorbents that uniquely offer record-breaking recovery efficiencies and exceptional durability, including in hydrometallurgical conditions. Engineered with atomically tunable pore structures for precision separations, these sorbents have been validated for selective capture of target metals from low-grade, highly complex mixtures, recovering critical minerals such as platinum-group metals, rare earth elements, base metals like copper, and even emerging contaminants like PFAS ("forever chemicals").

"With support from this Seed round, we're scaling production, expanding our team, and deploying pilot systems to recover high-value metals that would otherwise be lost," said Dr. Ever Velasquez, Co-founder and CTO. "Our systems are designed to integrate readily into existing infrastructure, and we look forward to expanding deployment with other industrial leaders who share our mission of onshoring a circular minerals supply chain."

With support from Breakthrough Energy Fellows and non-dilutive grants from over 10 U.S. agencies, the company has already scaled up its technology 1,000x from lab beakers to pilot reactors. The company has engaged in projects with leading recyclers and refiners to produce high-purity metals from domestic wastes, such as catalytic converters, mining feedstocks, spent solar panels, and wastewaters.

"With their high selectivity and fast reaction kinetics, ChemFinity's engineered sorbents extract critical metals orders of magnitude faster than conventional methods, achieving market-grade purity with minimal energy and water use," said Helen Lin, Partner at At One Ventures. "This can unlock exciting new value streams and is a true step-change in metal circularity."

"ChemFinity re-enables domestic refining of metals critical to the national interest," said Allison Hinckley, Senior Principal at Overture Ventures. "Their process features a dramatically smaller chemical and energetic footprint than global incumbents, resulting in superior economics."

ChemFinity will be hiring key roles in Brooklyn, NY.

About ChemFinity Technologies
ChemFinity Technologies is building critical mineral recovery systems to produce over 20 minerals from domestic feedstocks at low cost using its proprietary, high-performance sorbent filters. Spun out of UC Berkeley in late 2022 and based in New York City, ChemFinity has been backed by over a dozen top government and philanthropic agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Energy, ARPA-E, and Breakthrough Energy Fellows. The company's mission is to enable recyclers and miners to produce critical minerals domestically, cleanly, and cost-effectively—starting with high-value metals such as platinum and gold.

About At One Ventures
At One Ventures invests in deep-tech startups catalyzing a world where humanity is a net positive to nature. At One Ventures finds, funds, and grows companies that are using disruptive deep tech to upend the unit economics of established industries while dramatically reducing their planetary footprint. To date, At One Ventures has invested in 40 startups, including battery recycler Ascend Elements, de-extinction company Colossal Biosciences, and biodegradable packaging supplier Cruz Foam.

About Overture Ventures
Overture Ventures is an early-stage venture fund focused on energy, artificial intelligence, resilience, and industrial transformation startups critical to the national interest. The firm provides deep technical and government affairs support to help founders unlock federal, state, and municipal resources and navigate regulatory complexity. Overture's team includes former senior political appointees from the U.S. Department of Energy and White House and has deployed over $670M across startups in climate tech and industrial innovation.

Contacts
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SOURCE ChemFinity Technologies, Inc.