Sila Nanotechnologies
Component
Silicon-carbon anode material (Titan Silicon) for lithium-ion cells, drop-in for graphite; scaling automotive volumes at Moses Lake, WA.
Sila Nanotechnologies makes Titan Silicon, a silicon-dominant nanocomposite anode material that drops into existing lithium-ion cell manufacturing in place of part or all of the graphite anode. The particles use a nanoscale carbon scaffold that accommodates silicon's expansion during cycling — the failure mode that kept silicon out of commercial cells for decades. Sila claims range gains around 20% and 10–80% charging in as little as 20 minutes depending on cell design, and says Titan Silicon can replace roughly 50–100% of graphite. It operates two U.S. facilities, including what it describes as the largest silicon anode plant in the western world, in Moses Lake, Washington, aimed at automotive-scale volumes.
Research mapping
Physical AI / Grid, Power & Thermal Infrastructure (L2) / Component
Evidence boundary
Original analysis and independent corroboration remain under development. Commercial scale and durable technical advantage remain under review.
What makes it defensible
Owns foundational Si/C anode IP — the nanoscale scaffold that survives silicon expansion — plus Western gigascale plant capacity, in a materials step most cell makers cannot replicate in-house.
Position in the stack: Materials layer inside the battery: sells powder to cell makers and automakers, capturing value at the chemistry level rather than in pack assembly.
Who buys it
Named customers: Mercedes-Benz, Panasonic
Founding team
Gene Berdichevsky — Co-founder & CEO — Tesla's seventh employee; led the original Roadster battery system before co-founding Sila
Prof. Gleb Yushin — Co-founder & CTO — Materials science professor at Georgia Tech; inventor of the modern silicon anode architecture Sila commercialises
Alex Jacobs — Co-founder — Tesla colleague of Berdichevsky; co-founded Sila in 2011
SourceFinancing detail
- Last round
- Private equity round ($300M, Jul 2026)
Investors: Atreides Management, Sutter Hill Ventures, 8VC, Bessemer Venture Partners, Matrix Partners, T. Rowe Price
Mapped funds and investors
Direct relationships supported by published evidence.
Reported holdings as-of
No sourced relationships mapped yet.
Disclosed investment history
No sourced relationships mapped yet.
Showing up to four relationships in each group. ETF weights describe the fund’s portfolio, not ownership of this company. Private investment history does not establish current ownership.