Giraffe Bio Secures $6.4M to Scale Next-Gen Reagents for Copper Mining

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina and SANTIAGO, Chile, Oct. 13, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Giraffe Bio, a company based in Argentina and founded in 2024, has secured a $6.4 million Seed round to scale its next-generation reagents for copper mining. The funding was led by Orion Industrial Ventures, with additional support from BHP Ventures, Twynam, Air Capital, Baruch Future Ventures, and other investors. This investment builds on prior backing from SOSV and positions Giraffe Bio as the first company from Latin America to participate in Breakthrough Energy’s prestigious Fellows Program. BE Fellows recipients receive funding, tailored technical guidance, and access to Breakthrough Energy’s global network of mentors, experts, and partners. The program aims to help founders bridge the gap from lab to market and advance their solutions toward commercial readiness.

The company’s innovative approach to mineral recovery involves applying a drug-discovery playbook to mining. By combining AI-enabled molecular design, cell-free biology, and testing on real ore samples, Giraffe Bio engineers biochemical promoters specifically for copper flotation. These reagents are designed to help mines recover more copper and other valuable minerals while producing cleaner concentrates. Importantly, these finished, drop-in reagents work alongside existing flotation chemicals, requiring no new equipment or infrastructure.

Copper is a critical mineral for power grids, renewable energy, electric vehicles, and data infrastructure. Meeting rising demand will require miners to recover more metal from lower-grade and more complex ores. Flotation, the process used to separate valuable minerals from unwanted material, underpins roughly 80% of global copper production and plays a critical role in determining the quality and quantity of copper a mine can recover. However, much of the chemistry used in flotation was developed decades ago, leaving room for improvement.

Over the past year, Giraffe Bio has progressed from laboratory development to validating its technology with global mining companies across multiple copper ore types. The company is now advancing toward larger-scale pilots and industrial validation. The financing will support manufacturing scale-up, larger-scale pilot programs, expanded R&D and testing capabilities, and continued growth of the company's technical and commercial teams. Giraffe Bio develops mineral-specific biochemical reagents for mining, combining AI-enabled molecular design, cell-free biology, and testing on real ore samples to develop finished, drop-in reagents that integrate directly into existing mineral processing operations. Initially focused on copper flotation, the company operates in Argentina and Chile, working with mining partners globally.

The company’s technology addresses the critical need for more efficient and environmentally friendly mineral recovery methods. By leveraging modern biological techniques, Giraffe Bio aims to enhance the efficiency of existing mining processes without the need for significant infrastructure changes. This approach not only addresses the growing demand for copper but also contributes to more sustainable mining practices.