Just a year after being replaced by the CEO of a battery startup, the next energy (one) Mujeeb Ijaz has returned to the helm. In addition to this news, the company has announced the end of a new fundraising round led by Crescent Ventures and Trousdale Ventures.
No details regarding the size of the round have been made public and did not reply to requests for comment by the time of publication.
As for leadership shakeups, Ijazz first came aside in December 2023 and won the CTO title after the startup struggled to source Series C. Ijaz was probably recruiting Humphries for a leadership role, probably because of her experience with contract maker Flex.
Bloomberg reported in December 2023, Series C fell after climate was drawn from leading the round with a $100 million investment.
At the time, one was facing a cash crunch. The company raised a massive $300 million in Series B and valued the company with a $1.2 billion Money Post, but is currently building a $1.6 billion LFP battery factory in Michigan.
To strengthen the finances, it was to lay off 128 employees, about 25% of its staff.
With fresh funding, Ijaz has replaced Humphries and is now repeating his leadership again. Ijaz’s brother, Mansoor, chairman of Crescent Ventures, will also be on the board.
Ijaz started one in 2020 after stints with Apple and Ford.
The startup quickly made a splash after modifying the Tesla Model S with a dual chemical battery pack called the Gemini, allowing the sedan to travel 752 miles on a single charge.
The dual chemical packs allowed us to handle daily driving operations using LFP, a durable, low-cost chemical. When it is depleted, the pack’s circuit begins to be drawn into spare cells made with manganese-based chemistry. Manganese cathode materials are abundant and inexpensive, but tend to be less durable. However, for rare use, they show promise.
Also, despite being tested on the BMW IX, the Gemini Pack design has not yet been adopted by major automakers. However, BMW was one early investor.