After raising more than $223 million from investors including Bill Gates, Marlborough battery startup Ambri shut down late last year, months after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
After raising more than $223 million from investors including Bill Gates, Marlborough battery startup Ambri shut down late last year, months after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Ambri announced its closure in an Oct. 2 LinkedIn post, stating the firm was unable to raise enough capital to sustain operations, the same reason the manufacturer entered bankruptcy proceedings in 2024.
“After nearly fifteen years as a company, Ambri is winding down,” the company’s LinkedIn post said. “Unfortunately, the company could not raise sufficient capital to construct a factory and make customer deliveries.”
Between May 2011 and August 2024, Ambri raised $222.6 million through seven capital rounds, according to company financial tracker Crunchbase.
Ambri
initially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May 2024, stating in its filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware the manufacturer was facing significant fundraising challenges as a pre-revenue company.
“In the fall of 2023, despite strong interest from certain material investors, the Debtor was unable to complete a Series F financing round that would have enabled it to meet cell development milestones and complete manufacturing initiatives,” said the May 5 filing.
Ambri had 61 full-time employees at the time it filed for bankruptcy. By Aug. 21, 2024, that figure had decreased to one, according to a filing of the same date.
In July 2024, Ambri announced it had sold its assets to a lender consortium made up of its pre-bankruptcy investors, including funds managed by Denver-based Gates Frontier, New Jersey-based Paulson & Co., and New York-based Fortistar, according to a July 31, 2024, press release.
Founded in 2010, Ambri received seed funding from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. The manufacturer specialized in liquid metal battery storage systems designed to help integrate renewable energy into power grids.
The manufacturer held an auction for its equipment on Nov. 4 and Nov. 5 in Marlborough, including lithium-ion production lines, microscopes and lab equipment, and robotic welding and machine tools, according to Heritage Global Partners’ website, a California-based auctioneer and asset advisory firm.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare, manufacturing, and higher education industries.
