DCVC and Voyager co-lead with support from In-Q-Tel and Orion to commercialize Alta’s advanced biochemistry platform for mineral separation
Alta Resource Technologies, a pioneer in using advanced biochemistry to transform mineral separation, today announced that it has expanded its Series Seed funding to $10 million with the close of an additional $4.4 million investment. The Seed 2 investment was co-led by DCVC and Voyager Ventures with participation from Orion Industrial Ventures and In-Q-Tel (IQT), the not-for-profit strategic investor for the U.S. national security community and America’s allies.
The new capital will accelerate development and commercialization of Alta’s breakthrough platform, which uses engineered proteins to selectively bind to and separate critical minerals—including rare earth elements like neodymium and dysprosium—from low-grade ores and complex waste streams. The approach promises to dramatically reduce the environmental impact of mineral extraction while helping to secure domestic supply chains for essential materials used in advanced electronics, clean energy technologies, and modern defense systems.
The investment comes at a pivotal moment for critical-mineral supply chains, many of which are dominated by China. This concentration of control has raised alarms about economic and national security. Responding to the growing urgency around supply chain resilience, the White House issued an executive order in March 2025 aimed at boosting domestic mineral production and reducing U.S. reliance on fragile foreign supply chains. Alta’s technology offers a timely and scalable solution: a low-impact way to extract high-purity critical minerals from unconventional and previously uneconomic sources.
“Securing resilient, low-impact sources of critical minerals is no longer optional for America and its allies—it’s a strategic imperative,” said Nathan Ratledge, PhD, Alta’s Co-Founder and CEO. “Washington is beginning to respond with the kind of wartime urgency this moment demands, and Alta’s technology is uniquely positioned to deliver. Our protein-based platform gives the U.S. a scalable way to tap into unconventional mineral resources right here at home, while slashing both costs and environmental impact.”
Alta’s platform is based on protein engineering breakthroughs developed in partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and researchers at Pennsylvania State University. By customizing proteins to bind selectively to individual elements—even at low concentrations in complex mixtures—Alta’s solution offers far greater precision than conventional separation methods. The result is a step-change in the efficiency, sustainability, and economics of processing rare earths and other critical materials.
The company will use the new funding to expand its technical team, advance commercial pilots, and extend its technology to a broader range of metal targets and feedstocks, including mine tailings, waste streams, and end-of-life products.
“Alta exemplifies how deep technology can address critical global challenges while creating enormous commercial value,” said James Hardiman, General Partner at DCVC. “We’re increasing our investment because Alta has assembled an exceptional team and demonstrated remarkable progress in developing a revolutionary platform for critical mineral separation that can help secure America’s technological future.”
“Alta’s protein-based platform demonstrates the promise of engineering biology to address significant national security challenges. We are excited about supporting Alta’s technological innovation to diversify the nation’s sources of critical minerals and advance domestic processing capabilities,” said Dr. Jessica Dymond, VP, Technology at IQT.
The new funding brings Alta’s total Series Seed investment to $10 million, building on the initial funding announced earlier this year. In addition to private capital, Alta has received grant support from federal partners and the State of Colorado.
About Alta Resource Technologies
Alta Resource Technologies is on a mission to reinvent mining by using advanced biochemistry to cost-effectively source the critical raw materials needed to power next-generation technology and bolster economic security. By leveraging customizable proteins to separate high-purity rare earth elements and other essential minerals from previously untapped sources with unprecedented selectivity, Alta is expanding access to vital resources while dramatically reducing the environmental impact of mining. With support from top investors, research partners, and federal and state government, Alta is poised to catalyze a long-overdue revolution in mining technology and secure the domestic supply of critical resources for the 21st century economy. For more information, visit www.altatech.io.
About DCVC
DCVC is deep tech venture capital. Over more than a dozen years, the firm has backed brilliant entrepreneurs using computational approaches to solve trillion-dollar problems in the real world across a broad set of industries, especially those that haven't seen material progress in decades. With billions of dollars of assets under management, DCVC builds long-term relationships with the founders it backs. The firm has been with many of its companies from their very start — and through to their recognition by the public markets as category-defining businesses. For more information, please visit www.dcvc.com, or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter @DCVC.
About Voyager Ventures
Built on three decades of climate technology expertise, Voyager Ventures invests in exceptional technology companies creating the foundations of a new, decarbonized economy. The VC firm is led by experienced climate technology investors, founders, company-builders and policymakers who know how to invest and build for scale. Voyager brings its expertise, experience and networks to accelerate the success of ambitious early-stage founding teams in North America and Europe, investing in both hardware and software companies driving decarbonization worldwide. For more information, please visit www.voyagervc.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250505411471/en/
Securing resilient, low-impact sources of critical minerals is no longer optional for America and its allies—it’s a strategic imperative.
Contacts
Media Contact:
Greg Frost, Privateer Communications
greg@privateercommunications.com
