Mettle Capital reunites founding partners, joins $20 million Empirical Machines round
Mettle Capital just made its first move into AI by investing in a $20 million round that Mettle Capital and Peak XV are set to co-invest in in Empirical Machines, an AI startup founded by former OpenAI researcher Shyamal Hitesh Anadkat.
This investment also reunites Mettle's founding partners after their earlier split over disagreements over economics, including the allocation of carried interest and payouts linked to the firm's investment in Groww, and signals their renewed focus on cutting-edge tech.
Empirical Machines advances chemistry with AI
Empirical Machines, now valued at $80 million, is using AI to speed up scientific breakthroughs, especially in chemistry.
The funding comes as more Indian startups like MStack AI and Simplismart are catching investor attention, showing that venture capitalists are finally getting excited about backing homegrown AI innovation.