Activate

We’re excited to see two Activate Fellow’s companies featured in Chemical Engineering News. Pascal (@Jinyoung Seo and @Adam Slavney, Cohort 2023) has been named as one of “10 Start-Ups to Watch” in 2024, and Pheronym (Dr. Fatma Kaplan and Karl Cameron Schiller, Cohort 2021) is listed as a startup on their radar! “[Pascal]… can side-step the global warming impact of refrigerants with a heat pump system that uses refrigerants that remain solid throughout the heat transfer cycle, which prevents them from escaping into the atmosphere.” writes journalist Craig Bettenhausen See the full article in the comments below: Pheronym has created a seed coating that helps keep harmful nematodes from infecting crops, while also attracting positive insect killing nematodes. According to reporting by Matt Blois and Alex Scott, “Kaplan hopes that in a year, the firm will be selling its products to greenhouse operators, first the beneficial nematode stimulant and later the parasitic nematode repellent.” See the full article in the comments below: #ChemicalNews #EngineeringNews #ActivateFellows #HVAC #CropHealth

The data is in: Activate Anywhere, our growing remote fellowship spanning the U.S., is producing outstanding results! Andrés Ochoa C., Managing Director of the Activate Anywhere Community, recently studied how our remote-first communities are doing and he outlines several exciting discoveries:  1️⃣ The demand for nationwide science entrepreneurship is high. Among applicants for Cohort 2024, 425—over 41 percent—applied to Activate Anywhere (vs. the in-person locations of New York, Boston, Houston, and Berkeley). 2️⃣ Geography isn't necessarily a barrier to entrepreneurs raising capital or securing grants. Fellows in the Anywhere Community have raised $56M total, compared to the average total of $44.1M per community across Berkeley, Boston, and New York. This is contrary to our hypothesis that fellows in more traditional ecosystems of entrepreneurship (e.g. Berkeley, New York, and Boston) might have more success raising capital. 3️⃣ The virtual community among Anywhere fellows are fostering the same sense of connection as our in-person communities. In fact, they rated their sense of community even higher than those in traditional in-residence locations. Across the board, Andrés writes about how the Activate Anywhere Community is not only meeting Activate’s vision, but is exceeding expectations. https://lnkd.in/g4C49Sru

We love seeing this TechCrunch article by Aria Alamalhodaei about Raven Space Systems and their $2M pre-seed round! As TechCrunch says, “Manufacturing has been one of the hottest categories in venture this year, but there are still many innovative materials and processes yet to scale.” That’s why the work at Raven is so exciting. Read the full article to learn how they’ve developed “a new process to enable the first scalable 3D printing of commercial, off-the-shelf thermoset composite components.” Blake Herren, the CEO and co-founder, is part of the Activate Houston 2024 Cohort. Congratulations to Blake and team on this milestone!

Happy National Entrepreneurs' Day! 🎉 Since 2015, Activate has been the catalyst in creating science entrepreneurs to turn bold ideas into impactful solutions. Together, our Activate Fellows have raised an astounding $3.5B to drive sustainable technology forward. From developing groundbreaking materials to generating cutting-edge solutions to society's greatest challenges, these pioneers prove that science-to-market innovation can create a better world. To every science entrepreneur working to make a difference—let’s keep driving innovation forward 🌎 #NationalEntrepreneursDay #ActivateFellows #SustainableInnovation #ScienceToMarket #Entrepreneurship #ClimateTech

🚨 Final call for submissions! The Sustainable Mining Challenge: Mining the Unmined, run in partnership with Prospect Innovation, is closing for submissions on Wednesday, 20 November. ⚒️ We are calling for innovative #mining solutions to improve efficiency, recover metals from waste, recycle end-of-life products, and repurpose mining waste for alternative uses. Winners will gain visibility and access to exclusive events and networking opportunities to help scale their solutions. ➡️ Visit UpLink to learn more and submit your solution: https://ow.ly/HfXE50U6nWN Activate Amira Global Breakthrough Energy Clean Energy Ventures Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Colorado School of Mines DCVC Insight Mining Experts Ressources naturelles Canada (RNCan) NORCAT Nth Cycle SOSV #sustainablemining #metals #minerals #tech #industry #innovation #startup

We are proud to announce the Carbon Removal Challenge is returning for 2025! This will be the third annual CRC and we're excited to continue to grow the next generation of Carbon Removers! Carbon removal is far from where it needs to be in the near future to avert the worst effects of climate change. The OpenAir Carbon Removal Challenge provides students from colleges and universities around the world an opportunity to work towards safeguarding their future. They will design and build solutions that remove excess carbon from the environment, which will help accelerate carbon tech innovation, and build connections that will bring the next generation of talented engineers, thinkers, and designers into this important sector. Finalists will be selected for an in-person showcase in New York City in May 2025. 🗽 Interesting in participating or know someone who might be? Interested in sponsoring, judging, or helping organize the Challenge? Check out the CRC here to learn more about the Challenge or reach out to the organizers: https://hubs.la/Q02YyqYx0

Dimitry Gershenson of Enduring Planet recently sat down with Cyrus Wadia to talk about essential financial strategies for climate startups. Check out highlights from their conversation that ranges from how to find and engage with patient investors to diversifying capital sources. Always a pleasure, Dimitry!

Every day, the Activate community grows stronger as we’re accelerating the pace of scientific innovation and commercialization. Today, we have two big announcements on the growth front. Activate’s community of fellows and alums have now secured over $3.5B in funding! For a network of nearly 250 fellows, this is phenomenal. They’re tapping a variety of funding sources, from VCs to government grants and contracts. Here’s a quick glance at some of the recent funding secured: - Twelve (Etosha (Eee-tah-sha) Cave and Kendra Kuhl, Cohort 2015, Cyclotron Road) secured $645M, led by TPG Rise Climate, to continue developing sustainable aviation fuel. - Zanskar Geothermal & Minerals, Inc. (Joel Edwards and Carl Hoiland, Cohort 2020, Cyclotron Road) raised $30M from Obvious Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, and others to further its geothermal exploration technology and expand access to clean and affordable power sources. - Pascal (Jinyoung Seo and Adam Slavney, Cohort 2023) raised $8M in seed funding from Khosla Ventures, Blindspot Ventures, and Engine Ventures, for its new high-efficiency heat pumps. - HOPO Therapeutics (Julian Rees, Cohort 2023, Cyclotron Road) announced a $226M contract from Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to advance R&D of its oral therapy to treat heavy metal poisoning. - Electrified Thermal Solutions (Joey Kabel and Daniel Stack, Cohort 2021) was awarded over $4M in funding from ARPA-E to develop its zero-carbon, on-demand renewable heat solution. - Antora Energy (David Bierman, Cohort 2017, Justin Briggs and Andrew Ponec, Cohort 2018) was chosen by ARPA-E for a $14.5M award to accelerate the launch of its heat and power thermal battery product. Congrats to all the fellows who have secured funding this year! Our other announcement is that we’re honored to add two new board members: Alex Dehgan and Nitesh Sharan, CFA. They each bring enormous expertise in establishing and building companies all around the world including SoundHound AI, Conservation X Labs, Nike, HP, and USAID. Welcome, Alex and Nitesh! We’re starting to review applications for Cohort 2025 and we can already tell that the impact of Activate – thanks to our generous partners across government and philanthropy – will continue to grow in 2025. See the comments for a link to the full announcement...

Calling all battery innovators and startups! 🔋 Join New Energy New York (NENY) and the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator for Cohort 2 of the NENY ChargeUp Accelerator. Advance the investor readiness of your startup while participating in the six-month hybrid program. Receive a $25,000 stipend, access to vast resources in a federally designated Battery Tech Hub, connections to key investors, and the opportunity for follow-on investment, including up to $100,000 for technical development. Applications are open through Jan. 15, 2025. Register for an info session and apply in the link below! ⤵️ https://hubs.la/Q02X9jCm0

We're excited to share that our partners at the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center National Renewable Energy Laboratory are hosting the 2025 Industry Growth Forum in Denver, CO March 26-28, 2025. As one of the nation’s premiere cleantech events, the IGF aligns promising, preselected startups with venture capitalists looking for their next great investment. This is a great platform for visibility with investors and strategics. Apply here by November 11: https://hubs.la/Q02X9wwZ0