Rio Tinto and Founders Factory have unveiled six new startup investments aimed at cutting mining’s impact and accelerating site rehabilitation.
The latest cohort spans innovations in super-deep drilling, biodiversity monitoring, reforestation robotics, ecosystem restoration and mineral waste valorisation. Rio Tinto aims to back early-stage ventures that can help deliver the materials the world needs in more sustainable ways.
Among the six startups is DNAir, which captures airborne environmental DNA for biodiversity and biosecurity management; Foray, who develop plant cell-derived seeds for scalable ecosystem restoration; and FAST Metals, which converts mine waste into critical metals and green iron.
Hades is advancing laser-based subsurface drilling to unlock Europe’s geothermal and mineral potential, while Namu Robotics is pioneering autonomous robotic reforestation. Rounding out the group is Spoor, which uses AI-powered biodiversity monitoring to ensure infrastructure like wind farms coexists with nature.
“At Rio Tinto, we know we can’t tackle the industry’s toughest challenges alone,” Rio Tinto chief innovation officer Dan Walker said. “That’s why partnerships with startups are vital to our innovation strategy.
“Our Ventures team backs startups from pre-seed all the way to first-of-a-kind scale to compress timelines to impact. This includes our Accelerator program with our partners at Founders Factory, focusing on founders early in their journey, bringing in fresh thinking and cutting-edge technologies from inside and outside the mining sector to help us solve real-world challenges faster, more sustainably, and ultimately at scale.”
Founders Factory president George Northcott said the company is excited to work with this next cohort and understand how their technologies can be deployed in the mining sector.
“We are grateful to the many Rio Tinto experts and business leaders who help the founders adapt their value propositions for the sector and drive testing and commercialisation opportunities,” he said.
“There has never been a more important time for the provision of critical minerals and materials for electrification and many other of the world’s needs, and we are excited to be part of developing the right solutions whilst protecting nature in the process.”
Over the past 18 months, Founders Factory and Rio Tinto have reviewed over 1500 startups globally to select 18 investments – including this current cohort.
Since launching in 2024, many of the accelerator participants have secured research agreements with Rio Tinto and its various business units across the world. The six founders will also showcase their technologies at IMARC 2025 in Sydney from October 21–23.
AIMEX 2025 kicks off next week in Adelaide. Register for the free event here.
AIMEX 2025 kicks off next week in Adelaide. Register for the free event here.
