ExploreTech

Cover Block

Attribute	Details
Name	ExploreTech
Tagline	Software-driven critical mineral exploration to de-risk early-stage projects and boost global metal supply. [ExploreTech, retrieved 2026]
Headquarters	San Diego, California, USA [Prospeo, 2024]
Founded	2023 [Prospeo, 2024]
Stage	Seed
Business Model	B2B
Industry	Cleantech / Climatetech
Technology	AI / Machine Learning
Geography	North America
Growth Profile	Venture Scale
Founding Team	Academic Spinout [Climatebase, retrieved 2026]
Funding Label	Venture-backed (Y Combinator) [Climatebase, retrieved 2026]

Links

• Website: https://exploretech.ai/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/exploretech-ai

What an Investor Needs First

ExploreTech is a software-driven mineral exploration business applying AI to de-risk the search for critical minerals [ExploreTech, retrieved 2026]. Founded in 2023 by Stanford PhD geoscientists Alex and Michael Miltenberger, the company aims to replace traditional exploration methods with integrated software and data workflows [Climatebase, retrieved 2026]. Its core product is a suite of AI-driven drill targeting tools, currently deployed in commercial engagements with junior mining companies like Giant Mining Corp [Giant Mining Corp, 2025]. The founding team's geoscience background, including prior roles at Rio Tinto, provides domain credibility [Echelon Data Science, retrieved 2026].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Core business description and key partnerships are confirmed by company and partner sources; funding details and headcount are not fully corroborated.

Taxonomy Snapshot

Axis	Classification
Stage	Seed
Business Model	B2B
Industry / Vertical	Cleantech / Climatetech
Technology Type	AI / Machine Learning
Geography	North America
Growth Profile	Venture Scale
Founding Team	Academic Spinout
Funding	Venture-backed

Inside the Company

ExploreTech was founded in 2023 by Stanford PhD geoscientists Alex Miltenberger and Michael Miltenberger, spinning out research developed during their doctoral work in geophysics [Climatebase, retrieved 2026]. The company is headquartered in San Diego, California [ExploreTech, retrieved 2026]. Its primary corporate milestone was acceptance into the Y Combinator accelerator program [Climatebase, retrieved 2026].

Key operational milestones began in early 2024. The company was engaged by Reyna Silver on Nevada properties in January 2024, followed by a partnership with Prismo Metals to image a ZTEM anomaly at the Hot Breccia project in March 2024 [ExploreTech, January 2024] [ExploreTech, March 2024]. The partnership with Giant Mining Corp began applying ExploreTech's AI-driven drill targeting at the Majuba Hill Copper-Silver-Gold Project in Nevada in January 2025, reported successful intersections of predicted mineralization, and re-engaged the company for continued work in 2026 [TheNewswire.com, January 2025] [Giant Mining Corp, 2025] [TheNewswire.com, 2026].

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Founding details, headquarters, and key project engagements are confirmed by the company website and partner press releases. The Y Combinator affiliation is corroborated by Climatebase.

Under the Hood

ExploreTech’s core product is a suite of integrated software and data tools designed to predict mineralization and prioritize drill targets for early-stage mineral exploration projects [ExploreTech, retrieved 2026]. The technology is presented as a workflow that combines proprietary software with field operations [Climatebase, circa 2023-2024].

Public documentation points to two named product surfaces: Inverter and Driller, which are described as geophysical drill targeting solutions [ExploreTech, June 2024]. A central platform, the ET Engine, serves as a documentation hub for the software suite [ExploreTech, retrieved 2026]. The underlying AI models are co-developed by the founders and are based on PhD research conducted at Stanford University [Giant Mining Corp, 2025]. The company claims this proprietary software has been refined over five years of real-world use [ExploreTech, retrieved 2026].

Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Product claims and partnership details are confirmed by the company's website and third-party corporate news releases.

Market Research

ExploreTech operates in the software and AI-enabled mineral exploration segment. The broader market for mining technology and automation was valued at approximately $9.5 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 9.5% through 2030 [Grand View Research, 2023].

Metric	Value
Mining Tech & Automation Market (2023)	9.5 $B
Projected CAGR (2023-2030)	9.5 %

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Market sizing is based on an analogous, broader sector report. Tailwinds and macro forces are well-documented in industry literature but not directly cited for this company.

Competition and Substitutes

Company	Positioning	Stage / Funding	Notable Differentiator
ExploreTech	Software-driven critical mineral exploration; AI drill targeting to de-risk early-stage projects.	Seed (Y Combinator)	Integrated software, hardware, and field operations; 5+ years of proprietary software refinement; direct founder-led PhD research.
KoBold Metals	AI and machine learning for mineral exploration, backed by major investors and mining companies.	Later stage (Series B+); $192.6M+ total funding.	Proprietary data platform (TerraShed); high-profile partnerships (BHP, Mitsubishi); focus on battery metals discovery.
Vrify	3D visualization and communication platform for mining companies to showcase assets to investors.	Venture-backed; $5M Seed (2021).	Specializes in investor relations and capital markets storytelling via immersive 3D models.
Earth AI	AI-powered mineral exploration targeting, using proprietary algorithms to identify new deposits.	Seed; $2.5M (2022).	Vertical integration from AI targeting to owning exploration licenses and conducting early-stage drilling.

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Competitor profiles and funding are confirmed by public databases and news reports. ExploreTech's differentiation claims are sourced from its website and partner news releases, but direct comparative performance data is not publicly available.

Opportunity

ExploreTech’s opportunity is to become the primary software and data layer for the discovery of critical minerals. The core technology has already demonstrated predictive success in a commercial field trial. The partnership with Giant Mining Corp resulted in drilled targets intersecting predicted mineralization [Giant Mining Corp, 2024].

Scenario	What happens	Catalyst	Why it's plausible
The Targeting Standard	ExploreTech’s software becomes the mandated due-diligence step for any serious exploration project.	A major mining house (e.g., Rio Tinto, BHP) publicly adopts the platform for a flagship project.	The founders’ academic and industry backgrounds, including prior roles at Rio Tinto, provide a credible entry point for enterprise sales [RocketReach, retrieved 2026].
The Integrated Explorer	The company evolves from a pure software vendor into a project generator, using its superior targeting to stake and option high-potential claims.	Securing a dedicated exploration fund or a strategic investment from a resource-focused investor.	The business model is described as integrating software, hardware, and field operations, suggesting an operational capability beyond licensing [Climatebase, retrieved 2026].
The Government Partner	ExploreTech becomes a key technology provider for national critical mineral security initiatives.	Winning a contract or grant from a Department of Energy or Defense program.	The explicit focus on “critical minerals” and “global metal supply” aligns directly with stated US policy objectives [ExploreTech, retrieved 2026].

Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- The core opportunity thesis is supported by documented commercial pilot success and partner re-engagement. Growth scenarios are plausible extrapolations based on the company's stated model and founder background, but lack specific, forward-looking catalysts from the company itself.

Sources

1. [Bloomberg, 2023] KoBold Metals Discovers Major Copper Deposit in Zambia | https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-11/kobold-metals-discovers-major-copper-deposit-in-zambia
2. [Climatebase, circa 2023-2024] ExploreTech | https://climatebase.org/company/1140166/exploretech
3. [Climatebase, retrieved 2026] ExploreTech | https://jobs.climatebase.org/company/1140166/exploretech
4. [Crunchbase, 2024] KoBold Metals Profile | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/kobold-metals
5. [Echelon Data Science, retrieved 2026] Alex Miltenberger Profile | https://echelondatascience.com/people/alex-miltenberger
6. [ExploreTech, January 2024] News: Engaged by Reyna Silver on Nevada Properties | https://exploretech.ai/news
7. [ExploreTech, March 2024] News: Partnered with Prismo Metals to image a ZTEM Anomaly at Hot Breccia | https://exploretech.ai/news
8. [ExploreTech, June 2024] News | https://exploretech.ai/news
9. [ExploreTech, retrieved 2026] ExploreTech | https://exploretech.ai/
10. [Giant Mining Corp, 2024] Giant Mining Intersects ExploreTech-Predicted Mineralization in Majuba Hill Diamond Drilling Campaign | https://giantminingcorp.com/news/exploretech-ai-drilling-success-majuba-hill/
11. [Giant Mining Corp, 2025] Giant Mining Corp. Partners with ExploreTech to Expand 2025 Potential at Majuba Hill Copper Deposit | https://giantminingcorp.com/news/giant-mining-exploretech-2025-majuba-hill-copper/
12. [Grand View Research, 2023] Mining Automation Market Size Report, 2023-2030 | https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/mining-automation-market-report
13. [Investing News, November 2025] Giant Mining and ExploreTech Continue Partnership | https://investingnews.com/giant-mining-exploretech-partnership-november-2025
14. [Prospeo, 2024] ExploreTech Overview, Address & Contact | https://prospeo.io/c/exploretech
15. [RocketReach, retrieved 2026] ExploreTech Information | https://rocketreach.co/exploretech-profile_b6d4faeec747a2ac
16. [Sifted, 2022] Earth AI raises $2.5M for AI-powered mineral exploration | https://sifted.eu/articles/earth-ai-funding-2022
17. [TechCrunch, 2021] Vrify raises $5M for its 3D mining visualization platform | https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/12/vrify-funding/
18. [TheNewswire.com, January 2025] Giant Mining Corp. and ExploreTech AI Modeling Underway for the Majuba Hill Copper Deposit in Preparation of 2025 Drill Campaign | https://www.thenewswire.com/press-releases/1LYzF2oGq-giant-mining-corp-and-exploretech-ai-modeling-underway-for-the-majuba-hill-copper-deposit-in-preparation-of-2025-drill-campaign.html
19. [TheNewswire.com, 2026] Giant Mining Re-engages ExploreTech for 2026 Program | https://www.thenewswire.com/press-releases/giant-mining-exploretech-2026.html