A YC startup is putting $1M behind 5 unsolved materials science problems for AI

Discovered Materials, a San Francisco startup in Y Combinator's spring 2026 batch, announced a $1 million prize pool for AI models that solve five open materials science problems, including a theory of cuprate superconductivity and numerical methods for silicon-silicon dioxide interfaces and Density Functional Theory. The company said frontier lab models given internet access and other resources worked autonomously for days on each problem without making much headway. The startup, which develops new materials for semiconductors and partners with chip giants, said its timeline for generating a useful material has accelerated beyond its earlier one-year hope.