(This August 9 story corrects 5th paragraph to reflect that Breakthrough Energy Ventures is an investor in KoBold, not an owner)
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Mineral exploration company KoBold Metals, backed by billionaires including Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, has signed an agreement with London-listed Bluejay Mining to search in Greenland for critical materials used in electric vehicles.
KoBold, which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to hunt for raw materials, will pay $15 million in exploration funding for the Disko-Nuussuaq project on Greenland's west coast in exchange for a 51% stake in the project, Bluejay said in a statement.
Shares in BlueJay traded 26% higher on the news.
The license holds metals such as nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum and the funding will cover evaluation and initial drilling.
KoBold is a privately-held company whose principal investors include Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a climate and technology fund backed by Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates, Bloomberg founder Michael Bloomberg, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos, and Ray Dalio, founder of the world's largest hedge fund Bridgewater Associates.
Other KoBold investors include Silicon Valley venture capital fund Andreessen Horowitz and Norwegian state-controlled energy company Equinor.
BlueJay said previous studies found the area in western Greenland has similarities to the geology of Russia's Norilsk region, a main producer of nickel and palladium.
"This agreement is transformative for Bluejay," said the comany's CEO Bo Steensgaard. "We are delighted to have a partner at the pinnacle of technical innovation for new exploration methods, backed by some of the most successful investors in the world."