silicon-anode
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Sujeet Kumar
Sujeet Kumar is the co-founder and CEO of Ionblox, a Fremont, California battery company building pre-lithiated silicon-anode lithium-ion cells for electric vehicles and electric aviation. A materials scientist with a Ph.D. from the University of Rochester and more than 60 patents to his name, he previously served as CTO of Envia Systems, where his team developed one of the first 400 Wh/kg lithium-ion cells with a silicon anode. Ionblox, formerly Zenlabs Energy, has raised roughly $32 million in Series B funding from backers including Lilium, Applied Ventures, Temasek and Catalus Capital, and markets cells that promise higher energy density, up to five times more power, and 10-minute fast charging.
Blue Current, Inc.
Blue Current is a Hayward, California solid-state battery developer building what it calls a 'silicon-first,' fully dry battery platform. Its Silicon Elastic Composite chemistry ties glass-ceramic electrolyte particles to silicon anode particles with compliant polymers, constraining silicon swelling so high-silicon cells can cycle stably at low pressure without flammable liquids or PFAS. Positioned as a safety-focused, B2B licensing and pilot-manufacturing company, Blue Current targets electric mobility, grid-scale storage, and consumer devices, and closed an $80M+ Series D extension led by Amazon in December 2025.
Ionblox
Ionblox is a Fremont, California battery company building high-energy, high-power lithium-ion cells around a proprietary pre-lithiated silicon (SiOx) anode. Spun out of the earlier Zenlabs Energy effort and rebranded in 2022, the company targets two demanding markets - electric vehicles and electric aviation (eVTOL) - with cells that it says exceed 330 Wh/kg and can charge to roughly 60% in five minutes while holding up past 1,000 cycles. Backed by eVTOL maker Lilium, Applied Ventures, Temasek and Catalus Capital, Ionblox has raised about $32M in Series B funding and holds more than 40 patents.
Nanosys
Nanosys is a Silicon Valley materials company, founded in 2001 in Milpitas, California, that makes quantum dots - man-made semiconductor crystals 2 to 8 nanometers across that convert light into precisely tuned, saturated color. Its Quantum Dot Enhancement Film (QDEF) helped bring wide-color-gamut displays to mass market, and its materials have shipped in more than 70 million televisions, monitors, tablets and phones. Nanosys holds one of the largest quantum dot patent portfolios in the world and is developing NanoLED (QDEL), a self-emissive display technology in which quantum dots make their own light. In September 2023 its quantum dot business was acquired by Japan's Shoei Chemical, which now operates the Nanosys brand and its Milpitas R&D labs.
Group14 Technologies
Group14 Technologies is a Woodinville, Washington battery materials company that makes SCC55, a silicon-carbon composite anode material that replaces graphite in lithium-ion batteries to deliver higher energy density and faster charging. Spun out of EnerG2 in 2015 by Rick Luebbe and Dr. Rick Costantino, the company operates commercial factories in Washington State and South Korea and supplies more than 100 EV, consumer electronics, and energy-storage cell makers worldwide. It has raised over $1 billion in equity, including a $463M Series D in 2025 led by SK, Inc.
Rick Luebbe
Rick Luebbe is the CEO and co-founder of Group14 Technologies, the Woodinville, Washington company behind SCC55, a silicon-carbon battery material that boosts energy density up to 50% and enables extreme fast charging. A former Army aviation officer who flew scout helicopters in Desert Storm and later commanded an Apache attack company, he traded the cockpit for a Stanford MBA and three startups. After building B2B integrator Hubspan and selling battery-materials pioneer EnerG2 to BASF in 2016, he spun out Group14 in 2015 with co-founder Rick Costantino. The company has raised more than $1 billion, including a $463M Series D, and is building the world's largest factory for advanced silicon battery materials. His mission, stated plainly: electrify everything.