Redwood Materials has raised more funding in a Series E round. The private company continues to attract attention as it looks to boost its energy storage business amid the AI data center boom.
Notably, Redwood Materials has transitioned from battery recycling to manufacturing high-performance battery materials and energy storage systems under its new division, Redwood Energy. The company now operates a modular 12 MW/63 MWh microgrid in Nevada and is repurposing used EV batteries to power AI data centers and renewables-hungry industries.
Looking back, Redwood Materials was founded in 2017 by JB Straubel, Tesla’s (TSLA) longtime chief technology officer and co-founder, along with Andrew Stevenson, formerly of Tesla’s (TSLA) special projects team. Based in Carson City, Nevada, Redwood Materials was created to establish a closed-loop battery supply chain in the United States by recycling used lithium-ion and nickel metal hydride batteries and turning recovered metals into new anode and cathode materials. The company’s stated mission is to reduce reliance on foreign critical material sources and make electrification more sustainable.
Redwood Materials has attracted significant investment from institutional and strategic backers. Early backers included Amazon (AMZN), Breakthrough Energy Ventures (founded by Bill Gates), and Capricorn Investment Group. Since then, the company has raised over $2.5 billion, including a $1 billion round in 2023 and a new $350 million Series E in October 2025 led by Eclipse Ventures, with Nvidia’s (NVDA) NVentures participating.
The company has key collaborators such as Panasonic (OTCPK:PCRFF), Ford Motor (F), Volvo, BMW), and General Motors (GM).
Analysts and private investment platforms have circled Redwood Materials as a potential IPO candidate due to its rapid growth, institutional funding, and expanding capital needs.