Spintex has invented an entirely new, scalable method of making silk, using a naturally derived protein. Their critical insight is that, when it comes to spiders, how they spin fibers is as critical, or even more so, as the proteins they use. By mimicking spider spinning, and using a natural protein, Spintex is already surpassing premium silk in performance, with no compromise on look and feel. They’re starting with the textiles industry and will eventually move towards high-value medical applications.

This is why our mission is to design growth media that provides a collective benefit to the whole industry by lowering entry barriers, shortening routes to market, and supporting scale. Multus Media is accelerating the forefront of an industry that will replace the devastating impacts of livestock agriculture.

P.Happi’s ACTIVE COMPONENT kills the harmful bacteria and activates the skin’s natural ability to repair and protect itself, thereby boosting your natural immune system to promote a healthy woman’s intimate microbiome.

Alora removes land and freshwater as agricultural constraints, by helping crops that are normally grown on land to grow in the ocean. By removing land and freshwater as key constraints they can grow crops 20X cheaper than on land. The scientific insight came from mangroves and seagrasses that have genes that are highly efficient in managing salt. Alora’s first crop is rice, a crop that feeds over half the world’s population, but is also a notorious methane producer because of the soil bacteria. By growing rice in floating ocean paddies, they will be able to provide food security to the world while also offsetting CO2 emissions

BugBiome harnesses nature’s own defenses to protect crops from pests without any harm to people or pollinators. The team sources bioprotectants from the microbiomes of plants that have evolved to eliminate the target pest. BugBiome then uses a specialized consortia of microbes to camouflage the bioprotectant, luring in pests while minimizing their ability to develop resistance.

BugBiome’s key advantage is AvidX, a high-throughput screening platform that observes multiple aspects of insect behavior to identify microbes with diverse modes of protecting crops. These include feeding deterrents, egg-laying inhibitors, and toxins, which can be combined to mimic the microbial communities that thwart pests in nature. BugBiome aims for AvidX to be significantly faster and more cost-effective than existing screening methods, which examine one behavior and microbe at a time in conditions unrepresentative of a real farm.

BugBiome was co-founded by Dr. Alicia Showering, PhD in molecular microbiology for disease control, and Christopher Mosedale, an entrepreneur specializing in biotech commercialization. They aim to first produce an evidence-backed bioprotectant against aphids, a global threat to food security through the plant viruses they transmit. Ultimately, BugBiome’s technology might have an answer for every plant pest that harms humanity.

Enter NANOPLUME which has developed a bio-based aerogel that is strong enough for the built environment and three times more insulating than mineral wool and fiberglass insulation. NANOPLUME upcycles widely available biowastes and uses conventional industrial equipment to produce this aerogel. The resulting insulation is affordable, biodegradable, dust- and mold-free, fire-retardant, and composed of 99% air.

Currently, a large housing manufacturer is testing NANOPLUME’s aerogel as a thermal break material for the floors, windows, and doors in timber-frame homes. Installed throughout structures, aerogels could enable builders to use less load-bearing material, excavate less dirt, and build more housing per hectare of land. This could increase profit margins for builders while reducing heating and cooling costs for homeowners.

NANOPLUME was founded by Theresa Hoffmann, a deep tech venture developer, and Chemical Engineers Tara Love, PhD, and Tafadzwa Motsi, PhD and MBA. The team has significant experience developing and commercializing bio-materials. They aim to improve energy efficiency, space efficiency, and circularity across many industries by introducing a long-overdue advance in insulation technology.

UK-based Bactery has developed a battery system that draws electricity from natural bacteria as they break down organics in agricultural soils, releasing electrons. In one year, a single Bactery can generate the amount of energy stored in ten AA batteries—double what a typical sensor requires. The low-profile device sits submerged almost entirely underground, safely out of the way, and requires no additional infrastructure or maintenance. Bactery calculates that its units, built to work for over 25 years, are 5,000 times less expensive than solar units over their lifetimes. And like solar, they generate zero carbon emissions during use.

Drs. Jakub Dziegielowski, Mirella Di Lorenzo, and Benjamin Metcalfe, co-founders of Bactery, have collaborated at the University of Bath for over five years and are considered the world’s top researchers in soil electricity generation. They’ve shown that a Bactery could, eventually, produce up to 4 watts per square meter of soil, promising a future where one-quarter of an average U.S. lot can power an entire home.