Lithosquare Raises €22 Million to Revolutionize Mining Exploration

Critical Metals: The Blind Spot of the Energy Transition

The increasing electrification of uses, the expansion of data centers, and the industrialization of artificial intelligence have led to a heightened demand for essential raw materials such as lithium, copper, and nickel. These resources form the invisible infrastructure of the energy transition. However, this infrastructure remains fragile. Mining exploration is a slow, costly, and uncertain process. The complete cycle, from initial geological data to the discovery of a viable deposit, typically spans several years, with a limited success rate. In this context, the ability to identify new deposits more quickly becomes a major strategic issue.

Recent investments in artificial intelligence, energy, and quantum technologies indicate that venture capital is repositioning itself in sectors with high industrial intensity. Value is now being created upstream of production chains, which underscores the importance of these investments.

An AI That No Longer Just Predicts, But Explores

Lithosquare, founded in 2024 in Paris by Aymeric Préveral-Etcheverry and Simon Leclair, is developing an innovative platform. This French startup combines artificial intelligence, geological expertise, and field data to revolutionize mining exploration. Lithosquare is already collaborating with exploration players in Europe, the United States, Africa, and Latin America.

The startup offers a distinct approach to AI applied to geology. While some tools are limited to the statistical analysis of geophysical data, Lithosquare claims to combine artificial intelligence models with a scientific understanding of mineral formation processes. The goal is not only to identify correlations but to model complex geological systems to guide exploration decisions. This approach could drastically reduce analysis times, from several months to just a few days, while improving the success rate.

Lithosquare's positioning is part of a broader evolution of AI, which is moving away from generic uses to become embedded in highly constrained professional fields. In mining exploration, this transformation is still emerging, but initial applications show significant potential, particularly in Africa, where the use of AI in prospecting is beginning to take shape.

A Technological Response to a Geopolitical Constraint

Beyond operational performance, Lithosquare's proposal is aligned with a logic of sovereignty. Access to critical metals is currently concentrated in the hands of a limited number of countries, exposing Western supply chains to increasing geopolitical risks. In this context, accelerating the discovery of new deposits becomes a strategic lever to diversify supply sources and reduce dependencies.

Public policies in Europe and North America are converging toward this goal, reinforcing the relevance of solutions capable of industrializing exploration. AI appears here as a tool for acceleration, but also as an instrument for rebalancing.

A Fundraising Aligned with New Capital Priorities

The €22 million seed funding round, led by World Fund and Kindred Capital, with participation from Daphni, Omnes Capital, and OVNI Capital, fits into this dynamic. It confirms the growing interest of investors in projects with high scientific and industrial intensity, positioned on systemic issues.

These funding rounds, often larger from the outset, reflect an evolution in venture capital. Less focused on rapid cycles and purely software models, many investors are turning to technological infrastructures capable of addressing physical and regulatory constraints.