# Rio Tinto

> Rio Tinto is a VC fund in Melbourne backing Education and Manufacturing. See 45 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Melbourne, Australia
- Total investments: 45
- Last investment: Jul 2026
- Lead investor: 40%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/rio-tinto
- X (Twitter): http://twitter.com/riotinto
- Website: http://www.riotinto.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/riotintogroup/

Rio Tinto is a mining and exploration finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs. Steel is made from iron ore. Aluminum with a low carbon footprint for electric vehicles and smartphones. Copper is used in wind turbines, electric cars, and water pipes in our homes. Borates, which aid crop growth, and titanium, which is used inpaint.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for Rio Tinto. Shizune tracks 12 team members at Rio Tinto. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/rio-tinto?utm_source=investor_profile

## Round sizes

| Stage | Round size |
| --- | --- |
| Seed | $2.3M–$5M |
| Grant | $33k–$33k |
| Series B | $30M–$198M |

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Education | 10 | 22% |
| Manufacturing | 9 | 20% |
| Energy | 5 | 11% |
| E-Learning | 5 | 11% |
| Renewable Energy | 5 | 11% |

59 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Grant | 14 | 31% |
| Seed | 5 | 11% |
| Series B | 5 | 11% |
| Convertible Note | 4 | 9% |
| Series A | 3 | 7% |

12 stages tracked in total.

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Australia | 18 | 40% |
| United States | 9 | 20% |
| Canada | 5 | 11% |
| China | 1 | 2% |
| France | 1 | 2% |

7 countries tracked in total.

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bold Baatar | Chief Commercial Officer | 1 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/bold-baatar |
| Chris Salisbury | Managing Director | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/chris-salisbury-2 |
| Nigel Steward | Chief Scientist | 3 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/nigel-steward-908f |
| David Tull | Manager Industrial Relations | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/david-tull |
| Georgie Bezette | Chief People Officer | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/georgie-bezette |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| FAST Metals | FAST Metals is focused on developing innovative methods for the recovery and production of a range of valuable metals, including iron, aluminum, scandium, titanium, and rare earth elements. | $4.3M | Pre-Seed | Jul 29, 2026 |  |
| Chalco Rio Tinto JV | Chalco Rio Tinto JV formed by Aluminum Corporation of China Limited and Rio Tinto. |  | Corporate Round | Jan 29, 2026 |  |
| Vycarb | Vycarb is a Brooklyn-based firm that enables decentralized carbon removal through real-time, autonomous, and direct detection of CO2 in water. | $5M | Seed | Oct 06, 2025 |  |
| Terra AI | Terra's AI platform models and optimizes complex natural resource projects, enabling faster designs, reduced capital costs, and improved energy/resource output for large-scale developments. |  | Seed | Aug 12, 2025 |  |
| GeologicAI | GeologicAI is a software company specializes in Oil and Gas software. | $44M | Series B | Jul 17, 2025 |  |
| Electra | Electra focuses on producing clean iron through innovative electrification and decarbonization methods in the steelmaking industry. The company utilizes renewable energy sources to significantly reduce carbon emissions associated with traditional iron production. Electra operates a pilot plant that demonstrates its technology's capability toconvert high-impurity ores into metallic iron efficiently. Additionally, the company collaborates with partners to enhance resource efficiency and promote sustainable practices within the steel sector. Through these initiatives, Electra aims to contribute to a more environmentally friendly and sustainable future in metal production. | $186M | Series B | Apr 24, 2025 |  |
| Thunderstone | Thunderstone is reshaping the world of tomorrow by onshoring the metals |  | Convertible Note | Apr 23, 2025 |  |
| Ekion | At Ekion, we are pioneering a groundbreaking mining technology, known as Electrokinetic In Situ Recovery (EK-ISR). This innovative, 100% electric process extracts metals without the need for excavation or fracking of the ore body. It produces zero mining waste, requires no dewatering of aquifers, and eliminates the generation of harmful dust. As aresult, our environmentally-friendly approach significantly minimizes the impact of mining on the local and global ecosystem. |  | Pre-Seed | Apr 23, 2025 |  |
| Terra AI | Terra's AI platform models and optimizes complex natural resource projects, enabling faster designs, reduced capital costs, and improved energy/resource output for large-scale developments. |  | Convertible Note | Apr 23, 2025 |  |
| Rainstick | Rainstick a revolutionary indigenous Australian firm integrating traditional knowledge with current plant and fungal technology. |  | Convertible Note | Apr 23, 2025 |  |

10 of 45 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Founders Factory](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/founders-factory) — VC Fund, 7 deals together
- [Breakthrough Energy Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/breakthrough-energy-ventures) — VC Fund, 6 deals together
- [Energy Impact Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/energy-impact-partners) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [S2G Investments](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/s2g-ventures) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [Advantage Partners](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/advantage-partners-2) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Amara Raja Group](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/amara-raja-batteries) — VC Fund, 2 deals together

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## FAQ

### What does Rio Tinto invest in?

Rio Tinto invests primarily in Education, Manufacturing and Energy startups, most often at Grant and Seed stage. Most of the 45 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in Australia. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### What is Rio Tinto's check size?

Rio Tinto typically joins rounds of $2.3M–$5M at Seed, $33k–$33k at Grant and $30M–$198M at Series B. These ranges are 10th–90th percentile round sizes calculated from confirmed public funding rounds, so they are a realistic guide to the rounds Rio Tinto participates in.

### How do I contact Rio Tinto?

Public channels for Rio Tinto include LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### Who are the partners at Rio Tinto?

The team at Rio Tinto includes Bold Baatar (Chief Commercial Officer), Chris Salisbury (Managing Director) and Nigel Steward (Chief Scientist), among 12 team members tracked by Shizune. The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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