Metals Industry Report 2025 | StartUs Insights

The Metals Industry Report 2025 provides a comprehensive analysis of the sector’s innovation landscape, investment flows, and global workforce trends. It evaluates firmographic activity across a vast ecosystem of startups and mature enterprises. Further, it maps the evolution of company formation, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) dynamics, and employment growth.

The report also presents key indicators such as patent filings, grant distribution, and media visibility to assess the pace and direction of technological progress. A deep dive into funding patterns showcases top investor engagement and the scale of capital backing strategic initiatives in metals.

Furthermore, the report tracks emerging high-growth trends including digital twin technology, metal additive manufacturing, and machine vision. It concludes with case studies of five forward-looking startups developing advanced solutions across extraction, recycling, and metal fabrication.

Together, these insights offer stakeholders a data-driven perspective on innovation potential, industrial transformation, and competitive positioning within the global metals value chain.

Executive Summary: Metals Industry Report 2025

• Industry Growth Overview: With the metals and minerals market projected to reach USD 8.95 trillion in 2025, the metals industry experiences a slight annual contraction of 1.38% in growth rate. Moreover, the industry is expected to grow to USD 10.70 trillion in 2029.
• Manpower & Employment Growth: The global metals industry workforce stands at 30.1 million employees, with a net addition of 1.1 million jobs in the past year.
• Patents & Grants: About 485 393 applicants filed 2265 248 patents, although patent filings grew slightly slower this year (-0.47%). Moreover, more than 17 619 companies received grants to support technological development.
• Global Footprint: The industry hubs are in the USA, Germany, India, China, and the UK, and major activity centers in Mumbai, London, Istanbul, New York City, and Sydney.
• Investment Landscape: With over 37 579 closed funding rounds and an average investment value of USD 56 million per round, the sector attracts steady financial backing. More than 20 700 investors invested in 18 167 companies.
• Top Investors: Top institutional and corporate investors injected over USD 24 billion into the sector. Leading contributors include the European Investment Bank (USD 3.4 billion), Japan Bank for International Cooperation (USD 3.1 billion), BNP Paribas (USD 2.9 billion), and Societe Generale (USD 2.5 billion).
• Startup Ecosystem: Five innovative startups in this domain include Innovation Mining (cyanide-free gold extraction), Ekion (electrokinetic in situ recovery), VALIS Insights (scrap metal sorting and recycling), Japan Atomic Energy Agency (solvent extraction technology), and BeamShape (electron beam 3D printing).

Methodology: How We Created This Metals Industry Outlook

This report is based on proprietary data from our AI-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, which tracks 7 million global companies, 20K+ technologies and trends as well as 150M patents, news articles and market reports. This data includes detailed firmographic insights into approximately 7 million startups, scaleups, and tech companies. Leveraging this exhaustive database, we provide actionable insights for startup scouting, trend discovery, and technology landscaping.

For this report, we focused on the evolution of the metal industry over the past 5 years, utilizing our platform’s trend intelligence feature. Key data points analyzed include:

• Total Companies working in the sector
• News Coverage and Annual Growth
• Market Maturity and Patents
• Global Search Volume & Growth
• Funding Activity and Top Countries
• Subtrends within the metal industry

Our data is refreshed regularly, enabling trend comparisons for deeper insights into their relative impact and importance.

Additionally, we reviewed trusted external resources to supplement our findings with broader market data and predictions, ensuring a reliable and comprehensive overview of the metals market.

What Data is Used to Create This Metals Market Report?

Based on data provided by the StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, we observe that the metals market stands out in the following categories relative to the 20K+ technologies and trends we track.

These categories provide a comprehensive overview of the market’s key metrics and inform the future direction of the market.

• News Coverage & Publications: More than 48 217 publications and news articles were released about the metals industry in the past year.
• Funding Rounds: Our platform records a closure of 37 579 funding rounds.
• Manpower: It supports a workforce of more than 30.1 million people globally, with over 1.1 million new jobs added in the last year.
• Patents: The industry generated about 2265 248 patents.
• Grants: 17 619 companies received grants from public and private funding agencies.
• Yearly Global Search Growth: It stands at 9.97%.

Explore the Data-driven Metals Outlook for 2025

This section presents a heatmap-driven snapshot of the global metals industry, highlighting key metrics that reflect its scale, innovation activity, and geographic distribution. The database includes 7054 startups and a total of 361 880 companies operating across the metals value chain.

Despite a -1.38% dip in industry growth over the past year, the global metal and mineral market is projected to grow from USD 8.43 trillion in 2024 to USD 8.94 trillion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.1%.

Credit: The Business Research Company

It is further anticipated to reach USD 10.70 trillion by 2029 at a CAGR of 4.6%. This steady expansion reflects rising demand and adoption of circular economy practices.

Sales vs. Production Growth in the Metals Industry (2010–2024)

Credit: Allianz Trade

In 2024, industrial metal prices rose by approximately 5% year-on-year (YoY). Production and sales of basic metals grew by 3.5% and 4%, respectively, while profitability improved as input prices remained stable.

Over the past five years, the sector’s net income grew by 15% annually, and revenues increased by 22% annually, with future revenue growth expected to exceed 40% over the next five years.

Credit: World Steel Association

Global crude steel production reached 166.1 million tons in March 2025, marking a 2.9% increase from March 2024.

Another report states that the global steel production forecasts to grow by less than 1% in 2025, following a +0.3% increase in 2024. Production remains strong in countries like India, though overall global consumption is expected to decline by 1%. Average prices are projected to hold steady at around USD 600 per ton.

The copper market will remain in surplus through 2025 due to higher output from China and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Refined production expects to grow by 3%, while consumption will rise by 2.5%. Prices project to exceed USD 10 000 per ton, up 8% YoY.

Global aluminum production is set to rise by 2% (YoY) in 2025 to 74.5 million tons. Demand is expected to grow by 3-4%, supported by the automotive electrification and sustainable packaging trends, with prices forecasted to increase by 5%.

Global nickel ore production forecasts to grow by 6.5% to 3.9 million tons, with refined output increasing by 10% in 2025. Demand is projected to rise 7%, supported by stainless steel and energy transition applications. Despite this, the market will remain oversupplied, and prices are expected to stabilize with a 2% YoY increase.

Further, the sector is supported by 2265 248 patents and 17 619 grant-backed initiatives. Between 2012 and June 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Critical Materials Innovation Hub (CMI Hub) led the development of 57 patents in critical materials. It contributed to a global total of 13 623 patents in critical materials technologies during that period.

Additionally, from 2010 to 2024, a total of 5432 patents were filed globally in dedusting technologies for the steel industry. China, Germany, and the USA emerged as the top contributors in patent activity.

Employment in the industry stands at 30.1 million globally, with an average employee growth of 1.1 million recorded over the last year. As of early 2025, the USA primary metal manufacturing sector employed approximately 376 000 people.

The top five country hubs for emerging metals companies and startups are the USA, Germany, India, China, and the UK. At the city level, leading hubs such as Mumbai, London, Istanbul, New York City, and Sydney represent key concentrations of industrial activity.

A Snapshot of the Global Metal Industry Report

The global metals industry demonstrates a complex growth profile marked by innovation depth and structural maturity, despite modest contraction in overall activity. Over the past year, the sector experienced a -1.38% annual growth rate. However, the sector is supported by a startup base of 7054 companies, including 3238 early-stage ventures.

M&A activity remains a key signal of consolidation and strategic repositioning, with 11 456 mergers and acquisitions recorded in our database. In 2023, 40% of mining deals were related to critical minerals, up from 22% in 2019. Copper and lithium were the main focus, making up over 70% of these deals, slightly more than in 2022.

Further, the industry holds 2265 248 patents filed by 485 393 unique applicants. However, yearly patent growth declined slightly by -0.47%. On the global stage, China (492 797 patents) and the USA (475 073 patents) lead in intellectual property (IP) contributions.

Between 2010 and 2024, 5432 patents were filed for dedusting technologies in steelmaking. China (2345) accounted for the most filings, followed by Germany (1215) and the USA (965). In addition, between 2005 and 2024, 574 patents related to digital transformation in the steel industry were filed across major regions. The USA, China, and Europe emerged as key centers of innovation with global investments in smart manufacturing, IoT, and AI-based solutions.

Explore the Funding Landscape of the Metal Industry

Investment activity in the metals industry remains decent. It highlights sustained investor confidence across both emerging technologies and traditional operations. The sector recorded 37 579 closed funding rounds, with an average investment value of USD 56 million per round.

Cumulative Net Returns by Hedge Fund Strategies in H1 2024

Credit: Preqin

In early 2024, metals-exposed hedge funds gained 7.9% from January-June and 8.2% January-to-April. Although their risk-adjusted return score dropped from +0.60 to +0.27 over the past year, the decline was less severe than for equity-focused funds.

Private Equity Investment in Metal and Mining

Credit: S&P Global

In 2025, global private equity and venture capital investment in the metals and mining industry reached USD 152.8 million in quarter 1 (Q1), a decline from USD 4.35 billion during the same period of 2024.

According to our Discovery Platform, a diverse and active investor base of over 20 700 unique investors supports this growth. It contributes to funding across early-stage startups, scale-ups, and mature firms. In total, more than 18 167 companies secured investment. These figures confirm the sector’s appeal to both institutional and strategic investors and highlight its role in the growing industrial and energy transition landscape.

Who is Investing in the Metal Market?

The metals industry attracted backing from leading financial institutions and corporate investors, with the combined investment value from the top ten investors exceeding USD 24 billion. This capital influx reflects the strategic importance of metals in global supply chains, energy transition initiatives, and infrastructure development.

Top Metal Innovations & Trends

Discover the emerging trends in the metal market along with their firmographic details:

• Digital Twin technology is used across 9519 companies to develop or deploy virtual replicas of physical assets and processes. With an annual growth rate of 16.76%, it grows in areas like predictive maintenance, real-time monitoring, and operational efficiency. The companies in this sector collectively employ 825 900 workers, including 75 100 new hires in the last year.
• Metal Additive Manufacturing domain includes 570 companies and a workforce of 60 500 employees, including 3600 added in the last year. The sector reports an annual growth rate of 25.64%. It indicates investment in 3D printing for complex components, customized alloys, and lightweight design solutions across aerospace, defense, and tooling industries.
• Machine Vision gains momentum as an enabler of automation and quality assurance, with 2727 companies employing 196 000 individuals. Out of these, 12 200 were hired in the last year. It increased at an annual rate of 3.88% by supporting applications in sorting, defect detection, and robotic control in manufacturing environments.

5 Top Examples from 7000+ Innovative Metal Industry Startups

The five innovative startups showcased below are picked based on data including the trend they operate within and their relevance, founding year, funding status, and more. Book a demo to find promising startups, emerging trends, or industry data specific to your company’s needs and objectives.

Innovation Mining offers Cyanide-free Gold Extraction

Canadian startup Innovation Mining develops RZOLV, a water-based, cyanide-free gold extraction method that replaces toxic leaching agents such as cyanide, mercury, and acid-based compounds. The method uses a proprietary formula to recover gold from ore bodies and waste streams by targeting metals.

Additionally, in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), RZOLV serves as a mercury-free alternative to improve both safety and metal yield. Also, RZOLV operates across multiple processing environments, including heap and vat leaching systems, tailings reprocessing, and in-situ leaching.

Ekion provides Electrokinetic In Situ Recovery

Australian startup Ekion offers electrokinetic in situ recovery (EK-ISR), an electric mining technology that extracts metals from ore deposits without excavation, fracking, or hydraulic gradients.

It functions by installing electrodes of opposite polarity into drilled boreholes. This generates an electric field that moves the charged particles through the ore. Under this electric field, lixiviants migrate across the subsurface, dissolve targeted minerals through controlled reactions, and release metal ions that form charged complexes.

Further, these complexes continue migrating toward the recovery electrode, where they are collected for downstream processing. EK-ISR does not require injection or pumping systems and also operates in low-permeability media such as clays, tailings, and intact rock. It produces no waste rock, tailings, dust, or noise, and requires no dewatering to reduce operational impact on surrounding ecosystems and communities.

VALIS Insights aids in Scrap Metal Sorting and Recycling

US-based startup VALIS Insights develops scrap metal procurement and recycling products like VALI-Sort, VALI-Sample, and VALI-Melt. These products provide insights into scrap composition, operational performance, and material traceability.

VALI-Sort application monitors nonferrous metal separation to simulate process outcomes, assess supplier reliability, and recover missed metals through detailed reporting on classification and inventory.

VALI-Sample integrates hardware and software to automate material sampling. It records weight, images, particle count, and size distribution to reduce human error and identify upstream mechanical issues.

Further, VALI-Melt, an AI-based sensing and analytics platform. It offers real-time scrap quality insights, in-melt analysis, and blend optimization to support higher recycled content for increased yield.

Together, these products offer a data-driven foundation for scrap procurement, blending, and operational decision-making. They aid recyclers maximize recovery, improve safety, and increase the economic value of post-consumer metals.

Giraffe Bio advances AI-Powered Biomining

Argentinian startup Giraffe Bio develops an AI-powered biotechnology platform that develops biomolecules to optimize metal extraction from mining operations.

The startup combines proprietary hardware, including lithography and microfluidics-based biochips, with cell-free systems. This enables rapid testing and deployment of custom biomolecule candidates without living cells.

Further, its AI-powered analytics platform continuously refines biomolecule designs using real-time assay data according to the conditions of each mine. This increases metal recovery rates while lowering environmental impact, water usage, and operational costs.

BeamShape provides Electron Beam 3D Printing

Czech startup BeamShape builds an electron beam melting (EBM) 3D printing system for applications in defense, aerospace, medical, and energy sectors. The system uses a high-power electron beam to melt thin layers of metal powder in a vacuum and enable layer-by-layer construction of complex parts. A container feeds the powder and spreads it evenly. The electron beam illuminates and melts only the targeted regions, and the process repeats until the entire part is built.

Operating in a vacuum ensures atmospheric control, prevents contamination, and enables better energy absorption. This assists reactive or high-purity metals like copper, titanium, and tungsten.

Also, maintaining high ambient temperatures throughout the build process reduces internal stress and eliminates the need for heat treatment. The system simplifies post-processing by using pre-sintered powder as a thermal stabilizer and improves material compatibility, geometric freedom, and production efficiency.

Gain Comprehensive Insights into Metal Industry Trends, Startups, and Technologies

The Metals Industry Report 2025 outlines a sector in strategic transition, led by sustained investment, concentrated innovation, and growing global talent. The industry experiences steady overall growth. Further, the rise in new technologies, digital and materials-focused startups, and growing investor interest advances the sector.

As digital integration, automation, and sustainability reshape production and resource strategies, technologies like additive manufacturing, solvent extraction, and electrokinetic recovery enhance efficiency benchmarks.

The metals industry, with its advanced economies, shows growth across Asia and emerging markets. It drives industrial strength, supports resource circularity, and aids next-generation infrastructure development.

Get in touch to explore 7050+ startups and scaleups, as well as all market trends impacting 361 880 companies.