Funding to advance from lab-scale results to industrial pilot testing as copper demand outpaces supply

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Transition Metal Solutions, a startup boosting copper production from existing mining operations and waste, today announced an oversubscribed $6 million seed round led by Transition Ventures, with participation from leading climate and deeptech investors from the US, Europe, and Australia.

The company's proprietary platform analyzes the microbes living in an orebody and predicts, tests, and formulates chemical additives to optimize the specific wild biology and deliver more copper. The concept emerged following work at a major copper mine where some heaps were producing significantly more copper than expected. Analysis revealed the overperformance was driven by the diverse microbes found in the ore — over 90 percent of which had never been isolated or sequenced.

That discovery convinced Dr. Sasha Milshteyn, founder and CEO of Transition Metal Solutions, that all the necessary biology is already present. "We just need to identify what's limiting the microbial communities from doing what they naturally evolved to do," said Milshteyn, who has more than 20 years of experience in biophysics, metagenomics, and synthetic biology.

When tested on a low-grade primary sulfide ore, lab results showed an increase in copper recovery from 60 to 90 percent. Experiments on ores with challenging mineralogy, such as refractory, high-carbonate ore, achieved in situ acid generation and metal leaching three times faster than industry standard.

"We listened to dozens of miners and industry experts who have been disappointed by the performance of past biomining efforts," said Alexandra Shiluk, co-founder and COO of Transition Metal Solutions. "Our solution does not require lab-grown microbes or additional capital investments, making it cheaper, faster, and easier to adopt and scale."

The investment comes amid surging copper demand — driven by the energy transition, renewables, electric vehicles, and AI data center buildouts. Copper was recently added to the United States Critical Minerals List, underscoring the metal's importance to the country's economic and national security. Global copper demand is expected to grow 50 percent by 2040, but the richer deposits are virtually exhausted, leaving miners urgently searching for ways to recover copper from low-grade and complex ores.

The company, formerly Transition Biomining, was founded in 2023 and rebranded to better reflect its unique chemical approach to enhancing biological systems. It is headquartered at UC Berkeley's Bakar Labs for Energy & Materials. Dr. Suzan Yilmaz leads R&D, alongside scientists Dr. Diana Bojanova and Jeremy Wei. Yilmaz brings 15 years of experience in metagenomics and engineering across energy, environment, and human health applications. Vania Grandi leads the go-to-market efforts as Chief Commercial Officer, with 20 years of experience in mining, metals, and sustainability. Dr. Peter Kondos is an independent board director who brings over three decades of mining and metallurgical expertise from leadership roles at Barrick Gold, Inco (Vale), and Noranda (Glencore.)

The Seed round was led by Transition Ventures and backed by all prior investors — SOSV, Dolby Family Ventures, Astor Management AG, Juniper VC, and Climate Capital — alongside new investors Possible Ventures, Understorey Ventures, New Climate Ventures, Essential Capital, and Kayak Ventures.

"Transition Metal Solutions has developed a scalable, low-emission alternative to smelting," said Clara Ricard, Partner at Transition Ventures. "This drop-in solution to leaching low-grade ores is transforming the industry and addressing a critical gap in the energy transition worth billions."

The seed funding will be used to scale the technology from lab to industrial pilot conditions, with 3-meter column trials targeted to start the first half of 2026. Transition's long-term vision is to extend the platform to other critical metals, including nickel, cobalt, gold, and zinc.

"We evaluated dozens of new mining start-ups," said Pae Wu, General Partner at SOSV, "and urged Sasha to start the company because his unique scientific insight draws a straight line to scaled cash flows for his customers by tapping into what mining companies are already doing — without any overhead."

About Transition Metal Solutions

Transition Metal Solutions develops custom chemical additives that enhance wild microbial communities for metal extraction. The company's platform analyzes the biology already at work in a mining operation and formulates targeted products that increase recovery and accelerate extraction — without new infrastructure or changes to existing processes. Starting with copper, a metal key to the energy transition, the technology is designed to extend to other critical minerals. The company is backed by leading climate and deeptech investors across the US, Europe, and Australia. For more information, visit www.transitionmetal.com.

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SOURCE Transition Metal Solutions