Sila raises $300M Series H to scale silicon-anode battery plant
What's the deal? Sila Nanotechnologies, a startup producing next-generation battery materials, has raised $300 million in a Series H round. Atreides ManagementDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Sutter Hill Ventures led the round, joined by 8VC, Bessemer Venture Partners, Matrix Partners, and funds advised by T. Rowe Price Associates.
What's the endgame? The California-based company has developed a silicon-carbon material that replaces the graphite used in lithium-ion battery anodes, delivering higher energy capacity. The new cash funds an expansion of its plant in Moses Lake, Washington.
The current plant produces about 2 gigawatt-hours of anode material annually — enough to supply 20,000 to 50,000 EVs, depending on application. The expanded facility could increase that volume by more than 100-fold.
Why now? Sila opened the Moses Lake plant last fall, calling it the first automotive-scale silicon-anode facility in the US. It is now shipping sample anode material to a range of customers.
The round ranks in the top tier of deals by size — a notable sum for a capital-intensive manufacturing bet. Sila has previously raised $1.3 billion and was valued at close to $2 billion two years ago, according to PitchBook. It employs 400 people.
"This funding allows us to further scale our operations and deliver on the promise of American innovation," said Gene Berdichevsky, co-founder and chief executive officer, in a statement.
What could go wrong? EV sales cooled in the US after President Trump returned to office and federal support for battery-powered cars waned. Sila is betting that anode materials also find demand in consumer devices and in stationary battery installations for the grid and data centers.
Competition is close by. Moses Lake is also home to Group14, which makes its own silicon-anode material but has paused US manufacturing to focus on its South Korean plant.
The signal: The raise shows investors still willing to back domestic battery manufacturing at scale, even as the US EV market softens. Sila's pitch — a graphite alternative with broader applications beyond cars — reflects a hedge against a single, uncertain end market.
Read more: geekwire.com
Image credit: Sila Nanotechnologies
