ACCELERATOR - deep tech

Rio Tinto & Founders Factory Mining Tech Program

Applications open
Capital • 4 months operational support • Perth & Remote

Apply now

program overview

Investing in technologies to provide the materials the world needs

Rio Tinto is a leading global mining group that focuses on finding, mining, and processing the Earth's mineral resources.

Founders Factory and Rio Tinto are partnering with early stage startups across the world to fund and accelerate technologies shaping the future of mining and expediting the path to industrial decarbonisation.

Operating from both our hub in Perth and remote, the program offers founders access to Rio Tinto's industrial expertise and advanced mining facilities in Western Australia, in addition to a 4 month cohort-based support program led by expert operators.

Join the program

program overview

Investing in technologies to provide the materials the world needs

Rio Tinto is a leading global mining group that focuses on finding, mining, and processing the Earth's mineral resources.

Join the program

go further, faster

Build, fund and commercialise your technology with the backing of Rio Tinto and Founders Factory

Capital

Receive cash investment and opportunities for follow-on funding through our investor networks.

Operational Excellence

Four months of expert-led programming across product development, operations, commercialisation, data science, partnerships, and fundraising.

Industry Access

Commercial opportunities with Rio Tinto and access to mining facilities and testing grounds in Western Australia.

Community & Network

Connect with our global community of founders, operators and investors at private in-person and online events.

Playbooks & Resources

Leverage our venture building knowledge, systems and processes to de-risk your startup and increase the probabilities of success.

Deals & Perks

Access hand-picked deals, discounts and benefits with leading software and service providers, worth AU$500,000.

FEATURED COMPANIES

Our Mining Tech Portfolio

Endolith
/ Seed
Increasing copper recovery from low-grade ores in heap leaches by harnessing microbial communities, synthetic biology techniques, and a cloud-native platform
US
Durin
/ Seed
Automated drill rigs that consolidate drilling, lab testing, planning, and analysis into a single system
US
Terra AI
/ Series A
Combining geological data with AI-driven reasoning to optimise exploration in real time
US
Vycarb
/ Pre-Seed
CO2 removal and storage technology, facilitating permanent, low-cost, and fully-measured carbon capture, removal, and storage, using water and minerals
US
Rock Zero
/ Seed
Zero waste, cost-efficient lithium extraction
US
Magmatic
/ Pre-Seed
Building a library of metal-binding proteins, to establish novel integrated separation process for improved recovery of critical metals
Austria
BluumBio
/ Pre-Seed
Enzyme database for removing pollutants from soil, air, and water
US
Rainstick
/ Pre-Seed
Mimicking effects of lightning to stimulate biological and electrochemical changes in seeds to enhancing crop performance
Australia
ProSpectral
/ Pre-Seed
Next generation computer vision for material detection and analysis
UK
Thunderstone
/ Pre-Seed
Extracting metals directly from underground deposits, using high-voltage electric fields to create fractures in rock, allowing conductive fluids to dissolve and extract metals.
US
Sunchem
/ Pre-Seed
Developing sustainable leaching and Nano Filter technologies for the precision separation of critical metals
US
Ekion
/ Pre-Seed
Electrokinetic recovery to extract metals from stranded deposits
Australia