Oxford-based deep tech startup is building atomically engineered fuel cells: 85% cheaper and 30x more power-dense, running on renewable liquid fuels
OXFORD, United Kingdom and SAN FRANCISCO, May 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amphiform, a deep tech company building a new generation of nano-catalyst energy materials, has closed a $5.5M pre-seed round led by General Catalyst, co-led by Main Object and with Embassy Ventures, K5/Tokyo Black, Thomas Wolf, Charlie Songhurst and other angel investors participating.
Today's fuel cells are heavy and underpowered. The chemistry that generates electricity happens only at a thin interface where catalyst, fuel, electrons and protons meet. Most of the "deep" expensive catalyst is never used.
Amphiform is building a new kind of matter: hybrid materials, assembled atomic layer by atomic layer, that turn the whole volume into active surface designed to be as lightweight and powerful as physics allows.
The result is fuel cells targeting 30x higher power density - an order of magnitude beyond current Li-ion batteries - and 85% cheaper. By precisely tuning the spacing between the atomic layers, this approach unlocks the use of liquid fuels like methanol and ethanol - both of which can be produced cleanly, from biomass or captured CO2.
"Energy is the bottleneck on every other ambition humanity has: to decarbonise, to compute, to explore," said Grisha Sheldunov, Founder and CEO, Amphiform. "The era of intelligent machines, electrified industry and expansion of life beyond Earth needs an energy source that none of today's technologies can deliver: clean, abundant, dense enough to fly and cheap enough to scale.
"We believe the answer is not just a bigger version of what already exists - it's going a level deeper and engineering entirely new materials. That's what we're building, atom by atom, with the most precise manufacturing tools humanity has invented."
Amphiform was founded by Grisha Sheldunov, 22, a National Chemistry Olympiad winner from Ukraine and an Oxford quantum chemistry postgraduate, previously at AstraZeneca and other world-leading chemistry labs.
"What stood out to us is Amphiform's focus on solving power density constraints through new materials and how directly Grisha's deep roots in chemistry map to it," said Yuri Sagalov, Managing Director at General Catalyst. "As demand from data centres, defence, and space pushes up against these limits, he has the depth and execution to go after it."
Amphiform's technology addresses two of the biggest infrastructure challenges facing the West: the power demand of data centres and rebuilding an energy stack that today depends on China and a volatile oil market. Demand is most urgent in AI data centres, where build-out is outpacing grid expansion and alternatives. This is where Amphiform will deploy first.
"Amphiform is redefining the future of energy, one atom at a time. At Hugging Face, we have a front-row seat to the rising energy costs of AI models and robotics, and I'm excited to see such a talented team tackling this enormous challenge." - Thomas Wolf, co-founder, Hugging Face
Amphiform is currently building its research lab in Oxford, making it a founder-led company emerging from the Oxford ecosystem rather than a traditional spin-out.
About Amphiform
Amphiform is a deep tech company building a new generation of nano-catalyst energy materials. Founded in 2026, it has operations in Oxford and San Francisco.
For more: amphiform.com, @amphiform
About General Catalyst
General Catalyst is a global investment and transformation company that partners with the world's most ambitious entrepreneurs to drive resilience and applied AI. We support founders with a long-term view who challenge the status quo, partnering with them from seed to growth stage and beyond. With offices in San Francisco, New York City, Boston, Berlin, Bangalore, and London, we have supported the growth of 800+ businesses, including Airbnb, Anduril, Applied Intuition, Commure, Glean, Guild, Gusto, Helsing, Hubspot, Kayak, Livongo, Mistral, Ramp, Samsara, Snap, Stripe, Sword, and Zepto.
For more: generalcatalyst.com, @generalcatalyst
Contact: Grisha Sheldunov, grisha@amphiform.com
