SES AI (SES): AI Infrastructure, Drones and AI Chemistry

I first stumbled upon this company awhile back, and it seemed too good to be legitimate. The data and reputable sources I dug up proved me dead wrong on the skepticism. My skepticism was the last thing standing between me and the thematic investment thesis.

I’ve included all the sources I found along the way at the very end of this article. I also touch on the reasons why I continue to be so bullish on the electrification theme driven by AI.

SES AI is positioned to benefit from the AI infrastructure buildout, representing a rare opportunity in industries where valuations are full or stretched.

SES AI (SES) is a $300 mil company on the cutting edge of developing new battery technology for energy storage systems (ESS), drones and their SaaS AI for Science platform. The company is headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts. They are using the latest breakthroughs in AI, like agentic AI to develop the batteries.

SES AI (SES) began at MIT as Solid Energy Systems. It was founded by the company’s current CEO Dr. Qichao Hu. Dr. Hu did his postdoctoral work at MIT under Yet-Ming Chiang, who is one of the world’s foremost battery scientists.

SES AI CEO Dr. Hu has a history of bringing innovation to batteries. In 2015 Solid Energy Systems developed an “anode-free” lithium metal battery with several material advances. It was twice as energy-dense, yet half the size, and just as safe and long-lasting as the lithium-ion batteries used in smartphones, electric cars, wearables, drones, and other devices.

In September of 2025 SES bought established energy storage systems (ESS) company UZ Energy. UZ Energy has an existing customer base in Australia, the Middle East, Europe and now the U.S.

In the past their main focus was on car EV batteries. They have recently pivoted away from EV’s to focus on energy storage systems, drones, novel battery materials and their proprietary Molecular Universe AI science SaaS platform. The platform accelerates new battery materials discovery. The plan with it is either to license the new materials or sell them.

In the last conference call, they said they completed the conversion of the manufacturing site in Chungju, South Korea, from EV power cells to drone format power cells. They plan to gradually ramp up to an annual capacity of over 1 million drone cells. They did that because the US military does not allow any drone materials made in China. They now meet the standards of that National Defense Authorization Act.

I really like the UZ Energy and drone batteries potential and the pivot away from the much more capital-intensive EV car batteries.

What’s So Great About Energy Storage?