ONE's founder returned as CEO a year after being replaced, with fresh funding

A Michigan EV battery startup developing dual-chemistry packs, building a $1.6 billion LFP cell factory in the state.

$300 million Series B (Feb 2023) at a $1.2 billion post-money valuation; the new 2025 round's size was not disclosed.

Mujeeb Ijaz, a battery and vehicle veteran of Apple and Ford, founded ONE in 2020. The startup made a splash by retrofitting a Tesla Model S with its Gemini dual-chemistry pack — LFP cells for daily driving, manganese-chemistry reserve cells drawn down when those deplete — enabling 752 miles on a single charge.

After a $300 million Series B at a $1.2 billion post-money valuation, ONE began building a $1.6 billion LFP battery factory in Michigan. In December 2023 the Series C fell through after Just Climate pulled out of leading it with a $100 million investment, per Bloomberg. Ijaz stepped aside to CTO and board member Paul Humphries — whom Ijaz had recruited for his Flex contract-manufacturing experience — became CEO; ONE laid off 128 employees, about 25% of staff, to shore up finances.

On March 6, 2025, ONE announced a new funding round led by Crescent Ventures and Trousdale Ventures — size undisclosed — and that Ijaz was returning as CEO, replacing Humphries; Ijaz's brother Mansoor, chairman of Crescent Ventures, joined the board.

The operator swap fixed manufacturing credibility but could not close the funding gap, so the board reversed course.

Ijaz had founded the company and recruited his own replacement, keeping continuity in the DNA of the turnaround.

The rescue round was led by the founder's brother's fund, betting on Ijaz's vision and network over an outside operator.

ONE's differentiated Gemini technology needed its originator to sell an unproven dual-chemistry design to automakers.

Swapping a founder for an operator fixes execution, not strategy: a year later the board wanted the vision back, and the rescue money followed the founder, not the org chart.

As of March 6, 2025, ONE had fresh funding of undisclosed size, Ijaz back as CEO, and a board seat for the lead investor's chairman; the $1.6 billion Michigan factory and the still-unadopted Gemini pack defined the work ahead.