Futuristic deep tech companies from Bakar Labs on display at SF Climate Week
Cutting-edge startups offered an up-close look at their technologies during an expo “from the future.”
On a sunny Wednesday morning, amid the bustle of this year’s San Francisco Climate Week, key players from the Bay Area’s deep tech community crowded into a glass-walled gallery at the Exploratorium for a glimpse into their industry’s future. The April 22 event — titled “Live from the Future” — featured table displays from dozens of deep tech startups, whose founders shared their work with the crowd of investors, industry professionals, and community insiders.
With deep tech innovation moving at a rapid pace, expos like this one provide an opportunity for groundbreaking startups to showcase technology that even industry veterans may not be aware of. The expo — organized by Activate and co-hosted by Bakar Labs for Energy & Materials (BL-EM) and Breakthrough Energy — included seven companies from the BL-EM pilot program.
“This showcase gives our pilot companies’ founders the opportunity to present their technologies, answer questions, and make new connections with people who could become future collaborators or investors,” said BL-EM Innovation Navigator Ryan Taylor. “Some of these conversations might lead to the next funding round.”
BL-EM companies share tomorrow’s tech
The BL-EM pilot program provides companies with lab space, mentorship, investor access, and programming to propel their growth. Companies from the program presenting at the expo included:
FutureBio
Leveraging cutting-edge technologies, FutureBio is committed to advancing large-scale, cost-competitive bioproduction. (Image: FutureBio CEO Zilong Wang, left, and Research Associate Weixi Hu, right)
GigaCrop
Combining enzyme engineering, and machine learning, GigaCrop is reinventing photosynthesis for game-changing yield. (Image: CEO Chris Eiben)
Maxivio
At the forefront of materials and systems innovation, Maxivio is building next‑generation light engines by uniting novel quantum materials with electron and photon structures in a highly integratable form factor. (Image: CEO Zhiyong Li, left, and Process Engineer Jojo Zhang, right)
Root Applied Sciences
By measuring organisms in the air by their DNA, Root Applied Sciences is building a global agriculture monitoring platform to detect pests and disease before they land on plants and cause damage. (Image: CCO Dion Harste, left, and CEO Sarah Placella, right)
Terranova
Using terraforming robots to lift land out of flood zones, Terranova’s technology has applications for development, wetland restoration, community resilience, infrastructure, defense, and mining. (Image: Terranova Executive Chairman Trip Allen)
Transition Metal Solutions
Combining cutting-edge science with practical mining solutions, Transition’s custom additives help to deliver more metal from low-grade sulfides, faster with less environmental impact. (Image: CCO Vania Grandi, left, and CEO Sasha Milshteyn, right)
WattUp Energy
By building the world’s highest performance battery, through novel lithium-based chemistry, Wattup Energy will transform electric mobility across aviation, automotive, and maritime sectors. (Image: CEO Aaron Garg)
A week to celebrate, and grow, community
The expo was one of several events Bakar Labs helped organize during SF Climate Week, a weeklong celebration of efforts to support planetary health. On the morning of the expo, BL-EM held an intimate breakfast social, sponsored by Wilson Sonsini, for close partners across the deep tech ecosystem. The following night, Berkeley Gateway Accelerator organized an evening social co-hosted by BL-EM, UC Berkeley Deep Tech Innovation Lab, and Greentown Labs.
These SF Climate Week networking events, along with many others happening year-round, help to build and strengthen ties across the industry, said Bakar Labs Chief Operating Officer Jeremy Alberga.
“Today’s showcase perfectly encapsulates the Bay Area’s thriving deep tech ecosystem,” he added. “We have Activate organizing the showcase, led by Jill Fuss, who has been a huge thought partner at Bakar Labs. Our friends from Richmond Field Station are here, which houses some of our pilot companies’ R&D operations. We’re excited to be partnering with Breakthrough Energy Discovery, which shares our mission for fostering deep tech companies. These startups are benefiting tremendously from this whole ecosystem by being based in the area.”
