Niobia Develops AI to Cut Costly Defects in Battery and Chip Manufacturing

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San Francisco startup Niobia uses AI agents on production lines to detect micro-defects in batteries and chips, enabling engineers to diagnose and address issues rapidly and reduce expensive manufacturing delays.

Niobia, a San Francisco-based startup, has introduced AI software designed to revolutionize defect detection and root-cause analysis in battery and semiconductor manufacturing. The startup deploys AI agents directly on production lines, running on GPUs mounted on manufacturing equipment to spot minute flaws, including pinhole-sized scratches. These AI systems collect extensive production data and interact with engineers through a chatbot interface, enabling rapid understanding of defect causes—often providing answers in minutes rather than the days typically required.

The technology targets the high-stakes sectors of battery and chip manufacturing, where even minor production defects can halt operations and incur losses running into millions of dollars. Speed is critical because these components are in increasing global demand and supply shortages.

Co-founded by Gaurav Jha and Harveen Kaur, both holding PhDs in chemistry with industry experience in semiconductor and battery firms, Niobia focuses on narrow but crucial manufacturing processes such as film coating, electroplating, and fluidized bed reactions. Their AI models are built on open-source foundations but further trained on proprietary battery and chip data, ensuring detection capabilities at microscopic levels.

Niobia emphasizes data security, addressing client concerns about sensitive manufacturing information by allowing customers to maintain their own encryption keys. This approach ensures that their proprietary data is never accessible by Niobia or exposed to public AI clouds.

The startup envisions progressing from its current AI-assisted diagnostics toward fully autonomous manufacturing, aiming to develop self-driving factories for clients in these vital sectors. Niobia is currently gaining recognition in industry circles, including being a finalist at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026’s Startup Battlefield competition.