Aether Biomachines, the company reindustrializing America by turning AI-designed proteins into real-world solutions, received an additional $15 million in funding led by Tribe Capital. 

 

The round also included participation from new and existing investors, including Natural Capital, Henkel Corporation, Resilience Reserve, Shrug Capital, 4DX Ventures, Unless Partners, and Radicle Impact, bringing Aether’s total funding to $64 million.

 

Decades have passed since the last industrial revolution, with chemical manufacturing seeing only incremental improvements due to the massive costs of building factories on outdated processes. 

 

Aether is taking a radically different approach. By combining purpose-built AI with high-throughput robotics, the company designs proteins that act as molecular assemblers—nanoscale machines capable of building materials one atom at a time. These tiny machines replicate the precision of massive chemical factories, but at a fraction of the size, enabling faster, more affordable, and sustainable production.

 

The funding will accelerate Aether’s Protein Function Model, designed to rapidly create and optimize proteins for industrial and environmental applications, scale its first commercial materials, and forge partnerships across manufacturing, sustainability, and national security.

 

“Aether is building the foundation for the next industrial revolution,” said Pavle Jeremić, CEO and Founder of Aether Biomachines. 

 

“This funding will allow us to accelerate the discovery of proteins with transformative applications, including stronger, more scalable materials for defense and aerospace, and bring our first commercial products to more industries. Our latest funding positions us to turn breakthrough science into real-world solutions.”

 

Aether’s AI-designed proteins are already delivering industry-shaking results like Super materials: Polymer additives RapidPrint and Ultra 3D print up to 10X faster and 2X stronger than industry benchmarks, powering drones for defense and complex aerospace parts.

 

Also, industrial solutions -- Seven new protein classes capable of extracting rare earth metals, recycling plastics, capturing carbon, breaking down “forever chemicals,” and producing complex pharmaceuticals.

 

These breakthroughs highlight the vast potential of AI-designed proteins to transform industries and reduce reliance on global supply chains.

 

“We’ve seen many AI companies focus on discovery, but no one has taken the leap from designing proteins to delivering physical, market-ready products until Aether,” said Arjun Sethi, Chairman at Tribe Capital. “Aether is proving that its approach isn’t just innovative in theory; it’s faster, more cost-effective, and higher-performing than traditional methods, setting the standard for what AI-driven chemistry can achieve in the real world.”