Sila raises $300M to expand battery materials factory, bucking EV slowdown

Battery materials startup Sila announced Tuesday that it has raised $300 million to expand its factory in Washington state. The expansion will enable the plant to produce enough anode material for more than 100,000 electric vehicles. The investment comes as U.S. electric vehicle demand has softened amid the Trump administration's efforts to hamper the technology. While U.S. sales are down compared to 2025, when demand spiked before the sunset of tax credits, EVs are gaining market share elsewhere. According to Benchmark Minerals Intelligence, global EV sales are up 27% year over year.

Sila has previously signed deals to supply its anode material to Mercedes and Panasonic. It also supplies consumer electronics companies like Whoop, as well as drone manufacturers and satellite companies. Most lithium-ion batteries today use graphite anodes, and Chinese companies control about three-quarters of the supply chain, per Benchmark Minerals Intelligence. That has spurred automakers outside China to seek alternatives not subject to tariffs. Sila's anode material is one of the few alternatives available in sufficient quantity. Besides offering an alternative to Chinese graphite, Sila's anode material can store up to 40% more energy than traditional graphite anodes and charges faster.

The company has been developing the material for 15 years. Founder and CEO Gene Berdichevsky previously worked at Tesla as its seventh employee. Sila began production at its Moses Lake, Washington, plant last September. The factory currently has a capacity of 2 gigawatt-hours of silicon-carbon anode material. The expansion will increase capacity to tens of gigawatt-hours per year, enough to power over 100,000 EVs. While EVs are the largest users of lithium-ion batteries, energy storage systems are growing as demand for electricity rises. AI data centers have become major buyers of grid-scale batteries, which can serve as backup power, trim peak demand charges, and enable round-the-clock use of solar and wind power.

The new round was led by Atreides Management and Sutter Hill Ventures, with participation from 8VC, Bessemer Venture Partners, Matrix Partners, and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. Sila previously raised about $1.3 billion across earlier rounds, according to PitchBook.