January

13

2026
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GT Biosciences
Biotech
Platform enabling cell-type specific LNP brain delivery

GT Biosciences uses AI and high-speed screening to design delivery vehicles that carry genetic medicine to specific cells in the body. This technology ensures treatments reach exact locations, such as crossing the blood-brain barrier to treat neurological diseases, rather than getting lost elsewhere.

  • While most data only looks at whole organs, this platform tracks exactly which individual cells receive the medicine to ensure precise targeting.
  • The team developed a screening method that tests hundreds of delivery vehicles at once inside living animals, making the discovery process 100 times faster and cheaper than standard methods.
  • They have already found new delivery particles that cross the difficult blood-brain barrier 26 times better than current options, unlocking potential cures for brain diseases.
  • Their AI software predicts which chemical designs will work with 85% accuracy, significantly outperforming competitors who only achieve about 66% accuracy.
  • The company was founded by MIT scientists and professors who have collectively published over 250 papers and hold 500 patents in bioengineering and AI.
founder's pitch
We built Deliveromics, a scalable in vivo platform that enables the design of cell-type-specific delivery vehicles 100× faster and cheaper. We commercialize through pharma and biotech partnerships, converting pilots into co-development deals.
founder's work & Education
MIT McGovern Institute, MIT Media Lab, Ministry of National Defense, Korea, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, Berkeley
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Austere Environmental
Energy

Austere Environmental builds mobile machines that clean oil-contaminated soil directly at drilling sites, recovering nearly all the oil for reuse. This on-site process eliminates the need to truck hazardous waste to landfills, saving companies millions in disposal costs while significantly cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

  • Instead of hauling tons of dirty soil to landfills, their mobile units clean the mess right at the drilling site.
  • The technology works much better than current methods, recovering 99.99% of the oil compared to the usual 70-90%.
  • Oil companies save money by cutting out trucking and disposal fees, plus they can sell the recovered oil for extra profit.
  • They have already built a working pilot plant and tested it with Oxy, drawing interest from big names like Chevron and Shell.
  • The team is led by PhD engineers who have successfully turned this technology from a lab experiment into a real-world solution.
founder's pitch
We designed and built a 10 ton pilot plant that extracts oil from O&G wastestreams. Saving our customers millions and dramatically reducing GHG emissions.
founder's work & Education
Karman+, Colorado School of Mines, University of Arizona
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Stone Technologies
Energy
Turbines enabling AI datacenters' power reliability and decarbonization

Stone Technologies manufactures simplified natural gas turbines designed to rapidly power AI datacenters and future nuclear plants. By cutting delivery times from years to months, they address the critical energy shortage that costs the tech industry billions in lost revenue.

  • Current turbine makers have backlogs stretching over five years, causing datacenters to lose roughly $1 billion a month because they cannot get power fast enough.
  • While traditional turbines are complex and based on aircraft engines, this startup uses a simpler design built specifically for ground use to avoid supply chain jams.
  • The company uses a software platform called Momentum to automate heavy engineering work, allowing small teams to do jobs that usually require hundreds of people.
  • Instead of just selling equipment, they plan to rent out power capacity through a service model that charges datacenters a daily rate.
  • The founder is a hardware expert from Anduril and Lockheed Martin who specializes in scaling complex manufacturing and executing projects quickly.
founder's pitch
We are gigascaling the design and manufacturing of power generation Turbines. Stone builds a highly manufacturable nat gas turbine for AI datacenters, and build the AI-powered design softwar to 10x our engineers. Turbines are 18+mth leadtime, I can do it in 8. Nuclear turbines have 5+yrs Stone? 2yrs
founder's work & Education
Rainmaker Technology Corporation, FilterBalls, Inc., Anduril Industries, Southern Methodist University, Purdue University, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
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Amphora Labs
Materials
Polymer discovery via inverse design producing patentable NMEs

Amphora uses generative AI to design new materials and molecules that are optimized for manufacturing costs and supply chain limits before they ever reach the lab. This ensures that every discovery is commercially viable and ready for production immediately, avoiding the common trap of inventing materials that are impossible to build at scale.

  • While many AI tools discover materials that are too hard or expensive to make, this system filters for manufacturing costs and supply chain limits from day one.
  • The company operates as an IP factory that invents and validates new materials, making money by selling the rights rather than charging for software access.
  • Their platform creates a continuous loop where real-world lab results are fed back into the AI, making the computer smarter with every experiment.
  • They are starting with a clear focus on creating durable polymer coatings for Navy drone ships, a high-demand market that needs materials to withstand salt and weather.
  • Led by experts from Recursion, SpaceX, and the Navy SEALs, the founders combine deep technical knowledge with practical experience in delivering complex products.
founder's pitch
Our breakthrough is a Constraint-First Architecture that optimizes for materials manufacturability and unit economics by baking supply chain realities directly into the AI’s latent space. We acquire customers through a Joint Development Partnership model, acting as a tech-enabled "IP Factory".
founder's work & Education
Teal Omics, FORM Life Ventures, Baze, Colby College, The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth
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Nexus Dynamix
Pharma
Crystallization on Earth enabling diffusion-dominated drug optimization

Astropod develops terrestrial systems that replicate orbital microgravity to enable defect-free crystal growth for pharmaceutical drug development. This technology allows researchers to produce stable, effective medicines in their own labs without the extreme costs or delays of spaceflight.

  • The company developed a machine that cancels out gravity's effects on Earth, creating the same weightless conditions found in orbit for days at a time.
  • Gravity normally causes defects in drug crystals during growth, but this system produces the uniform structures needed for reliable medicines.
  • Instead of waiting over a year and spending millions to launch experiments into space, pharmaceutical companies can now achieve the same results on the ground.
  • The team has already built a working prototype that operated continuously for six days and has secured funding from Google and other grant programs.
  • Beyond pharmaceuticals, this technology can also improve the quality of materials used in lasers and computer chips that suffer from similar gravity-related flaws.
founder's pitch
We have replicated orbital microgravity on Earth, enabling defect-free crystal growth without the cost, delay, or constraints of spaceflight. This removes a major source of failure in pharma crystallization workflows. We acquire customers by targeting high-value, hard-to-crystallize assets in pharma
founder's work & Education
Ontario Tech University, Innovative Scale Canada, University of Calgary, University of Toronto, Leipzig University, Lancaster University
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BlueShift
Robotics
Coal fly ash valorization through AI-driven refining

BlueShift builds autonomous mining platforms that combine electrochemical processing with AI software to refine critical minerals like rare earths much faster and cheaper than traditional methods. By extracting valuable materials from waste sources like coal ash, they unlock a domestic supply of essential components for defense, clean energy, and electronics.

  • Traditional mining relies on expensive chemical shipments, but this system generates its own acid and base on-site using electricity to cut operating costs by more than ten times.
  • Developing a new mining project usually takes decades, but their software simulates and designs the best processing methods in months to speed up the timeline significantly.
  • Instead of digging new mines right away, they are starting by extracting rare earth metals from existing waste piles like coal fly ash, which is easier to permit and richer in certain valuable elements.
  • The technology is a modular platform that can be adjusted to refine different minerals, allowing them to start with rare earths and eventually expand to larger markets like copper.
  • The team includes engineers and scientists from Yale and Amazon who have already secured partnerships with major industry players like ConocoPhillips and government agencies like ARPA-E.
founder's pitch
A processing-first mining platform integrating autonomous, modular electrochemical process and intelligence software stack to deliver > 7X lower costs and development times. We're starting with rare earth refining to deploy revenue generating assets and scale to unlock larger markets like copper.
founder's work & Education
Institute for Carbon Management, Amazon Lab126, Amazon, University of Michigan College of Engineering, University of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of New Mexico School of Engineering
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Borg Robotics
Robotics
Robotics platforms enabling brownfield manufacturing automation

Borg Robotics builds modular robots that slide directly into existing factory workspaces to automate manual labor without requiring expensive layout changes. Their adaptable hardware and advanced AI help manufacturers fill millions of open jobs by seamlessly integrating into current production lines.

  • The robots fit into current factory setups immediately, so companies don't have to spend money or time rearranging their floor plans.
  • Their systems run on specialized AI that lets the machines see, think, and fix their own mistakes in real time instead of just following a script.
  • They offer both two-armed robots for complex tasks and faster single-arm units for repetitive jobs, all running on the same software.
  • Unlike competitors making robots that look exactly like people, this team focuses on industrial function to create machines that are cheaper and more durable.
  • Major Fortune 100 manufacturers are already talking to them, and one top partner is preparing to run a pilot program in their facilities.
founder's pitch
Automation for every human work cell
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Photon Marine
Transportation (Hardware)
Propulsion systems enabling fleet management for harborcraft

Photon Marine builds high-power electric outboard motors and fleet management software specifically for commercial workboats. This system replaces gas engines to significantly lower fuel and maintenance costs while eliminating emissions in harbors.

  • Traditional gas engines are expensive to run, but this electric system cuts fuel bills and maintenance costs enough to pay for itself over time.
  • While most electric boat motors are built for casual weekend use, this hardware is engineered to handle the heavy daily demands of commercial work fleets.
  • The motors come with intelligent software that tracks battery life and predicts maintenance needs, helping fleet operators manage their boats more efficiently.
  • The company helps customers use government grants and vouchers to lower the upfront price, sometimes making the electric system cheaper than buying a gas engine.
  • They partner directly with boat builders to install the motors on new vessels and have already secured millions in revenue and pilot programs with major ports.
founder's pitch
Photon Marine has developed a high-power, production-grade electric propulsion system for commercial vessels, integrating hardware and fleet software to outperform ICE on efficiency and lifecycle cost. Customers are acquired through OEM integrations and incentive-backed fleet deployments.
founder's work & Education
The Freshwater Trust, Fresh Consulting, Uncorked Studios, Duke University, St. Thomas Aquinas HS
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Vipin Autogenbot
Agriculture
Orchard spraying by edge AI autonomous robots

AutoGenBot builds autonomous robots that navigate difficult orchard terrain without GPS to perform precision spraying tasks. By replacing expensive tractors and manual labor, these machines cut pesticide use by nearly 40% and significantly lower operating costs for farmers.

  • The robots use cameras to see and move through orchards without needing GPS or the internet, so they can work in dense areas where other machines get lost.
  • Instead of spraying chemicals everywhere, robotic arms aim at specific spots to cut pesticide use by about 40% and save farmers money.
  • These small machines run day and night to do the work of expensive tractors, helping farmers handle the shortage of available workers.
  • The design is affordable enough that farmers can make their money back in less than 90 days, costing much less than traditional heavy farm equipment.
  • The company is led by a team with over a decade of robot-building experience and has already secured deals to distribute their machines.
founder's pitch
Physical AI for orchard spraying that reduces pesticide use by 30–40%, operates 18 hours a day including at night, and penetrates deep canopy areas that drones and traditional tractors cannot reach. ex: Apple orchard $550/hr reduces to $330/hr with no worries of labor. Tractor yearly ~$75,000 changes to ~43,000 through us. Our core breakthrough design patented autonomous orchard sprayer with robotics arms to target spray and vision based navigation . We are acquiring customers through pilot deployments in US orchards, partnerships with distributors like Blue Line Equipment LOI Commitment of 250k ARR Since we launched through Global Organization For Agriculture Robot many adjoining organization has given direct pipeline to customers while leveraging a service-based model to generate recurring revenue and rapidly scale adoption.
founder's work & Education
Lemon Chillii Farms, IXAR (Industrial X-Ray & Allied Radiographers L.L.C.), AIRBOTS SRM, SRM IST Chennai
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SPARC Evolution
Batteries
Battery waste processing into pCAM and LiOH

SPARC Evolution recovers critical battery materials like lithium and nickel from waste using a simplified refining process that is significantly cheaper and cleaner than traditional methods. This approach allows for profitable recycling at a much smaller scale, securing a domestic supply of essential metals without the need for massive infrastructure.

  • The company uses a streamlined chemical process that removes impurities without separating the metals, cutting capital and operating costs by more than half.
  • While other recyclers require high-purity waste, this technology can handle a wide range of dirty battery materials, unlocking a larger supply of feedstock.
  • Their first commercial plant costs about $11 million to build instead of the billion-dollar facilities usually required, making it much less risky to get started.
  • Independent testing confirms their recycled materials perform just as well in batteries as brand-new materials mined from the earth.
  • The team is led by industry veterans with over 100 years of combined experience in refining and scaling up industrial processes.
founder's pitch
SPARC Evolution is redefining how critical materials are sourced, delivering battery-grade lithium, nickel, cobalt, and graphite at structurally lower cost than current supply through a streamlined, more efficient recovery process. In earlier waves of recycling, most companies leaned heavily on emissions metrics, incentives, and the assumption that profitability only emerges at massive scale. These approaches required high-purity feedstock, billion-dollar plants, and extreme throughput to be viable. SPARC removes those structural barriers. Why SPARC stands out: * Cost leadership: >50% lower CAPEX/OPEX vs. conventional refining, achieving true price competitiveness with Asian supply. * Feedstock flexibility: Process wide impurity ranges and multiple chemistries, avoiding the limitations that challenged previous recyclers. * Profitable at small scale: First commercial plant requires only ~$11M CAPEX (vs. >$1B elsewhere), materially de‑risking deployment. * Battery-grade outputs: Produces high‑margin products, not intermediates, minimizing commodity exposure. * Validated pathway: Pilot-produced material is already validated against virgin benchmarks. * Experienced execution: Veteran team with deep refining and scale‑up experience bridging lab innovation to industrial operations. We’re raising our US$2.5M Seed round to expand pilot operations and position SPARC for a near-term, profitable commercial demonstration facility.
founder's work & Education
Coherent Corp., Hatch, The University of British Columbia
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Terra Bioforge
Biotech
Scale-up producing immunosuppressants via recombinant fungal pathways

Terra Bioforge rewrites fungal genetic codes to manufacture complex natural medicines like Cyclosporine faster and cheaper than traditional methods. This platform solves critical production bottlenecks, unlocking industrial-scale access to valuable drugs that are currently difficult to make.

  • The company acts like a genetic copy machine for fungi, moving complex DNA instructions into better organisms to boost drug production.
  • They have proven they can double yields and speed up manufacturing by four times for their first target, a vital organ transplant drug called Cyclosporine.
  • The startup is already making real money with $2.5 million in revenue and active partnerships with industry giants like Bayer and BASF.
  • Beyond just one drug, they are using their platform to improve how we make antibiotics, cancer treatments, and eco-friendly farm chemicals.
  • The team is led by a founder who previously sold a biotech company for $70 million and a scientist recognized as a top expert in fungal natural products.
founder's pitch
Strain engineering for genetically encoded drugs 
founder's work & Education
Lucigen, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
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Cryopets
Biotech
Pet cryopreservation service stabilizing animals for revival

Cryopets stabilizes terminally ill pets at extremely low temperatures immediately after death to preserve them for future revival and treatment. This service addresses the deep emotional bond owners have with their animals while acting as a scalable bridge to eventual human cryopreservation.

  • Over 4,500 pets are already signed up for the service, showing that a large number of owners are eager for a chance to extend their pets' lives.
  • The company uses a special process called vitrification that replaces blood with medical-grade antifreeze to stop ice from forming and damaging the body.
  • They have built their own mobile units to reach pets quickly across the country and start the preservation process the moment clinical death occurs.
  • Focusing on animals first allows the team to bypass the legal and financial roadblocks that slow down human cryopreservation research.
  • The founder is a Thiel Fellow who has raised significant funding for longevity research and has already successfully preserved the company's first patient, a Siberian Husky.
founder's pitch
Cryopets is developing cryosleep: an experimental form of critical care medicine that aims to stabilize terminally ill pets, and later humans, at very low temperatures for future treatment. We have over 4,500 pets signed up to be cryopreserved with more coming via ads and veterinary hospitals.
founder's work & Education
CryoDAO, HydraDAO, The Thiel Foundation
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The Ensynble
Biotech
Laboratory workflow platform improving experimental reproducibility and robotics

WetGenie uses smart glasses and AI to automatically document lab experiments and guide scientists through complex procedures hands-free. By capturing a perfect record of every step, the system eliminates manual errors and builds a video library to train future laboratory robots.

  • Lab workers currently rely on messy handwritten notes, but this system uses smart glasses to record every step and word automatically.
  • The software saves scientists hours of busywork every week by tracking supplies and writing down data so they can focus on the actual science.
  • Videos recorded from the user's point of view are turned into a valuable library that teaches robots how to perform physical lab tasks.
  • The founders are engineers and scientists with experience at big tech companies who understand exactly why so many experiments fail.
  • Labs lose billions of dollars when experiments cannot be repeated due to missing details, and this tool fixes that by capturing a perfect record of the work.
founder's pitch
We build fully autonomous documentation for lab experiments with XR glasses, mic, and fixed cameras. In addition, we build pipelines to transfer data acquired from human operations to humanoid. B2C customers are acquired through inbound and marketing campaigns, and B2B customers from direct sales.
founder's work & Education
Stealth Mode Biotech, J. Craig Venter Institute, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Duke University, University of Virginia
Heard of Deep Checks through
MICA Biosystems
Biotech
Nanotech platform enabling in vivo cellular remote control

MICA Biosystems uses magnetic nanotechnology to remotely control living cells inside the human body in real time. This platform allows doctors to actively direct tissue repair and target cancer without the side effects of broad drugs or the complexity of gene editing.

  • The company attaches tiny magnetic particles to cells, effectively turning them into antennas that doctors can control from outside the body.
  • Unlike standard drugs that affect the whole body, this method targets specific injuries or tumors to reduce side effects and improve safety.
  • The technology is already proven in 11 animal studies and is preparing to enter human trials to help patients with spinal injuries.
  • By simply changing the active molecule used, the system can switch from fixing broken bones to fighting cancer or treating nerve damage.
  • One of their key collaborators was recently selected for a Nobel Prize in Medicine, validating the high quality of science behind their immune system research.
founder's pitch
We’re opening a fundamentally new frontier in medicine: a nanotech-augmented, remote controlled cell platform. It lets us control living cells inside the human body, in real time & on demand. It represents a shift from treating disease with broad therapeutics to actively choosing biological outcomes across tissue regeneration, cancer, and neuro. The platform has been validated in 11 animal studies, across 16 indications, and our lead programme is advancing into Phase 2a human trials, with the next-gen programmes also being brought forward sooner with AI.
founder's work & Education
University of Birmingham, MICA Biosystems, Neuro-Bio Ltd, University of Nottingham
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DeepScript
Biotech
Drug discovery platform improving phenotypic screening via transcriptomics

DeepScript builds a virtual screening platform that tests drugs against complex disease models at a massive scale, bypassing the slow process of physical lab testing. This technology accelerates the discovery of treatments for difficult conditions like brain injuries by simulating how drugs affect the whole disease rather than just single targets.

  • Most drug discovery focuses on single targets and misses the bigger picture, but this platform screens for overall disease improvement using advanced digital models.
  • The system creates digital profiles for chemical compounds, allowing them to be tested virtually against many different diseases without needing to run new physical experiments every time.
  • While traditional screening methods find a hit less than 2% of the time, this AI-driven approach predicts successful drug candidates with roughly 40% accuracy.
  • The team is initially using this technology to find treatments for traumatic brain injuries by modeling how brain tissue scars and heals.
  • The founders are PhD scientists and professors with experience at top organizations like Bayer, Merck, and the AI institute Mila.
founder's pitch
We’re building a TechBio platform for phenotypic drug discovery that tackles its biggest bottleneck: scalability. Our goal is to make complex biology screenable at a scale that meaningfully changes how novel targets and drug candidates are found.
founder's work & Education
BlueRock Therapeutics, Institut de recherche en immunologie et en cancérologie (IRIC), Carrefour Industriel et Expérimental de Lanaudière, Université de Montréal, McGill University, Concordia University
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Moltech Innovations
Biotech
DDR inhibitors advancing cancer therapy via AI discovery

Moltech Innovations develops AI-discovered cancer therapies that block tumors from repairing their own DNA, causing them to die while leaving healthy cells unharmed. This dual-target approach aims to replace toxic chemotherapy with a more effective oral treatment that prevents cancer from building resistance.

  • Traditional cancer treatments like chemotherapy damage healthy cells, but this method targets a specific weakness in tumors to kill them without harming the rest of the body.
  • The company uses a two-pronged attack combining a proven drug type with a brand-new inhibitor, making it extremely difficult for cancer cells to survive or adapt.
  • Their custom software has already discovered a new drug candidate that tests show is more potent than the current leading medication on the market.
  • By focusing on oral drugs that don't damage DNA directly, they aim to replace harsh radiation and chemotherapy with a safer, more tolerable option for patients.
  • The founding team brings over 40 years of scientific expertise from world-class research institutes to tackle the major challenges of drug toxicity and resistance.
founder's pitch
We developed one of the first end to end AI platforms for phenotypic drug discovery. Our focus is to develop first oral combination therapy for cancer that do not cause DNA damage to cancer cells like traditional chemotherapy, but instead inhibits repair of naturally occurring DNA lesions in cancer.
founder's work & Education
MedILS_UNIST, Clinical hospital Merkur, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zagreb
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Torpedo Bio
Biotech
Treg therapies for solid tumors using CAR technology

Torpedo Bio genetically engineers immune cells to penetrate and destroy solid tumors, overcoming the limitations of current therapies that cannot reach these dense cancers. This approach unlocks a new treatment path for patients with deadly conditions like lung and pancreatic cancer who currently have few effective options.

  • While current cell therapies cure blood cancers, they fail against solid tumors; this startup engineers immune cells that can actually penetrate these dense masses to kill cancer from the inside.
  • The approach relies on Regulatory T cells, which naturally migrate into tumors and can survive the harsh environments that typically disable other treatments.
  • This technology targets the most common and deadly forms of cancer, such as lung and pancreatic cancer, offering a potential lifeline to patients who have run out of options.
  • The founders have secured patent protection for their work and won grant funding and awards from respected groups like the American Cancer Society.
  • Instead of building everything alone, the team is partnering with academic medical centers and drug companies to quickly move their research from the lab into human testing.
founder's pitch
Patients with solid tumors, the deadliest and most common form of cancer, lack effective treatments. Current CAR T cells cannot penetrate or function in these dense, immunosuppressive cancers.Torpedo Bio's core breakthrough is the genetic engineering of immune cells such that they can enter solid tumors and destroy them, even when traditional treatments fail. By turning immune cells into powerful cancer fighters, we offer patients with lung, pancreatic, breast, and other hard-to-treat cancers a new and effective therapy option. Torpedo Bio's customer acquisition strategy involves strategic partnerships with academic medical centers, starting with the clean cell therapy facility at the Medical University of South Carolina, and oncology-focused pharmaceutical companies to initially advance programs through IND-enabling stages and then out-license or co-develop cellular therapeutics for clinical trials.
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SPARC Evolution
Climate (Hardware)
Battery waste to pCAM production improving yields

SPARC Evolution turns battery waste directly into ready-to-use battery materials through a simplified refining process that skips complex chemical separation steps. This approach creates a domestic supply of critical metals at half the cost of traditional mining or recycling methods.

  • Instead of breaking batteries down into individual metals and rebuilding them, their technology keeps the useful metals together and just removes the impurities, which cuts costs by more than 50%.
  • The recycled material has been tested by Argonne National Laboratory, confirming that batteries made from this waste perform just as well as those made from brand-new mined metals.
  • While most recyclers need massive factories to make money, this system is profitable at a very small scale, allowing them to build plants faster and with much less money.
  • The process works on different types of batteries, including both the standard nickel-based ones and the cheaper iron-phosphate ones that many other recyclers cannot handle.
  • The leadership team includes industry veterans with over a century of combined experience at major companies like Ford and Barrick, meaning they know how to scale industrial processes.
founder's pitch
SPARC Evolution is redefining how critical materials are sourced at structurally lower cost competitive with Asian supply, producing battery-grade materials validated at pilot scale through a proprietary refining process, and acquiring customers through pilot qualification and offtake agreements.
founder's work & Education
Coherent Corp., Hatch, The University of British Columbia
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RAIDIEN
Climate (Hardware)
founder's pitch
RAIDIEN turns downlighting into a distributed HVAC system, with each downlight acting as a coordinated climate node for efficient, room-level comfort. We sell through installers and builders using existing downlighting layouts, enabling low-friction installs, design-in adoption, and retrofit scale.
founder's work & Education
None found
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Forager Station
Climate (Hardware)
Waste-stream processing using modular electrochemical systems

Forager Station builds rugged electrochemical systems that treat dirty industrial wastewater without breaking down like standard equipment. This technology turns expensive waste disposal into revenue by recovering valuable minerals and managing toxic streams that were previously impossible to treat.

  • Most water treatment machines break quickly when processing dirty water, but this hardware is built to handle high levels of contamination without failing.
  • They are targeting a $140 billion market for difficult water treatment, which is roughly double the size of the market for clean water applications.
  • The company acts as a manufacturing hub, allowing customers to use their own specialized materials while Forager provides the durable hardware to run them.
  • Their technology turns expensive waste disposal problems into revenue by recovering valuable materials like lithium, magnesium, and ammonia from industrial brine.
  • The team is led by engineers with advanced degrees from MIT and extensive industry experience, and they have already delivered custom units to paying clients.
founder's pitch
Forager Station builds electrolyzers that survive dirty water applications, enabling applications of electrodialysis that would otherwise instantly foul. We have shipped units to and customer inquiries from: ammonia recovery, national labs, universities, produced water treatment, magnesium, lithium.
founder's work & Education
Parian, LLC, Weave, Instrumentation Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Virginia, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
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Heliom
Climate (Hardware)
Monitoring system improving solar-farm anomaly detection

Heliom deploys autonomous, tethered helium balloons to provide continuous aerial monitoring for utility-scale solar farms. This persistent surveillance detects critical issues like fires and security breaches instantly, filling the blind spots left by intermittent drone flights and manual inspections.

  • The system uses small balloons that are exempt from FAA regulations, meaning they can be launched quickly and stay in the air for weeks at a time.
  • Unlike drones that run out of battery quickly or satellites that only pass by occasionally, these balloons offer constant video coverage to catch problems the moment they happen.
  • The founder is a camera systems expert with a PhD who previously built stabilization and imaging technology for major companies like Apple and Skydio.
  • Instead of replacing other tools, the platform acts as an early warning system that tells operators exactly when and where to send ground crews or aircraft.
  • Initial pilot programs are targeting solar energy providers in the US and India to help prevent costly equipment damage and downtime.
founder's pitch
FAA exempt, small tethered balloon based persistent monitoring solution for critical infrastructure with custom balloon, camera payload and tether for ground power.  We are targeting utility-scale solar for launch and already have pilot customers waiting to deploy in India and the US.
founder's work & Education
Apple, Intel Corporation, The Ohio State University, University of Delaware, University of Madras
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Rapta
Defense
Automation enabling real-time visual inspection and quality control

Rapta builds an AI platform that uses cameras and sensors to detect and eliminate manufacturing errors in real-time. By catching mistakes instantly, the software helps factories avoid costly rework and significantly boosts production capacity without needing more workers.

  • The system generates its own training data using digital simulations, allowing it to learn new tasks in minutes rather than waiting months to collect real-world photos.
  • The company is growing fast with 521% year-over-year growth and has already reached $1.1 million in annual recurring revenue.
  • They have secured 25 major enterprise customers, including defense giants like Lockheed Martin, proving the technology works for high-stakes manufacturing.
  • Factory errors currently cost the industry over $300 billion a year, but this system cuts rework costs by ten times and increases overall capacity by 30%.
  • Unlike traditional factory systems that take months to install, this platform requires no coding and can be set up and running on a production line in a single day.
founder's pitch
Rapta sells an Agentic AI Platform that eliminates errors in real time with cameras and sensor data to augment human expertise for smarter factory operations. We have grown 521% YoY, passed $1.1M in ARR and have 25 Corporate customers including Lockheed Martin, Elbit, Smiths Interconnect, Rheem.
founder's work & Education
RealSelf, Stanley Black & Decker, Inc., Indice Semiconductor, RMIT University, Australian Institute of Management
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Super Powers Mobility
Defense

Super Powers Mobility builds universal electric powertrain kits that turn standard off-road vehicles into silent, high-performance electric machines. This technology allows military and recreational users to instantly upgrade their existing fleets with autonomous-ready power instead of waiting years for major manufacturers to catch up.

  • Their kit turns gas vehicles into electric ones in under 12 hours, allowing owners to upgrade fleets without buying new trucks.
  • The military wants these engines because they are quiet and ready for self-driving software, which is vital for stealth missions.
  • The founders are engineers from Tesla Cybertruck and Honda Powersports with deep experience in electric vehicles and off-road racing.
  • They built a working prototype in just seven months for a low cost and have been invited to demo the vehicle for U.S. Special Forces.
  • Big manufacturers are moving too slowly on electric options, creating a huge opportunity for this startup to supply the engines the market needs now.
founder's pitch
We've developed the highest performance electrified light off-road powertrain for civilian and military dual-use.  Enterprise we'll target autonomous UTVs and robotics. Consumers we'll leverage influencer partnerships. Defense we'll exhibit at FOSOV Rodeo & compete in XTech.
founder's work & Education
Tesla, Nickel Finance, University of Pittsburgh Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh, Founder Institute
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Agami Zero
Energy
founder's pitch
Agami Zero is building a hydrogen-powered EV charging and off-grid power system for energy-constrained environments where grid extensions and batteries fail. Initial customers are mountain towns, ski resorts, and remote communities, acquired through direct partnerships and pilot deployments.
founder's work & Education
Samuel Engineering, Inc., Watson Institute, University of Colorado Boulder College of Engineering & Applied Science, Coventry University
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Etherdyne Technologies
Energy
Energy delivery enabling multi-receiver device uptime
founder's pitch
We provide large area wireless power transfer system that can simultaneously power multiple devices at different power levels.  We have few pilot customers already.
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Mojave Energy Systems
Energy
HVAC systems enabling decoupled cooling and humidity control

Mojave manufactures commercial air conditioning systems that use a liquid solution to control humidity separately from temperature. This approach cuts energy consumption by up to 50 percent while preventing mold and improving indoor air quality.

  • Standard air conditioners waste energy by trying to cool and dry air at the same time, but this system uses a liquid to pull moisture out far more efficiently.
  • Businesses typically save 30% to 50% on energy costs, allowing the equipment to pay for itself in less than 18 months.
  • Major corporations like Walmart and Hilton have already adopted the technology, with Hilton writing it into their standard building specifications.
  • By managing humidity better than older systems, the units prevent costly issues like mold growth and condensation that can damage buildings.
  • The company manufactures its products in the USA and is led by executives with experience at major firms like Trane and SpaceX.
founder's pitch
Mojave's ArctiDry uses liquid desiccant to reduce HVAC energy cost and climate impact by 30-50% while keeping purchase price competitive with conventional equipment: 0-18 month paybacks!  We acquire customers through direct sales to major companies (e.g., Walmart) and through our 30+ sales partners.
founder's work & Education
PC Farese Consulting, Point72, UC Santa Barbara, Cornell University
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Dugu Systems
Energy
Gas turbine developer delivering distributed CHP with carbon capture

Dugu Systems builds low-pressure gas turbines that generate affordable electricity and heat while capturing all carbon emissions directly within the engine. By using standard components, they bypass the multi-year manufacturing delays of traditional turbines to quickly supply clean power to energy-hungry industries.

  • Traditional turbines are complex and expensive, but this engine runs at low pressure to use cheaper materials while capturing carbon dioxide as it runs.
  • A surge in power demand from AI and data centers has created a seven-year wait for standard turbines, creating a perfect opening for this easier-to-manufacture alternative.
  • The company has already signed a deal for 10 units with its first customer and arranged pilot projects to test the system in ethanol and oil industries.
  • The system runs on various fuels and produces pure carbon dioxide that can be sold or stored underground, turning a typical pollutant into a useful product.
  • Their technology is supported by government grants and built alongside a specialized engineering firm that has deep experience designing advanced power systems.
founder's pitch
Dugu is developing a low pressure turbine - an ambient pressure intake that drops into a vacuum. Tame pressures and temperatures allow for common alloys and simplified components, unlocking a highly efficient turbine that also experiences very low capital costs.  Dugu already has demand with customers for both our first turbines (10 unit purchase order) as well as a standalone test pilot for the component built by our SAFE round. Dugu has also confirmed interest from customers across a range of industrial sectors (enhanced oil recovery, ethanol, food processing, chemicals). Downstream strategy is to deploy early units with thought leaders in multiple sectors and geographies to build a queue justifying a strong valuation for exit potential by the early 2030s. And confirming we are raising against a $5M post-money valuation cap standard YC SAFE. We have angels banked on this agreement, and our lead investor Carnrite Ventures has signed a side letter against it as well. 
founder's work & Education
Climatebase, Dugu Metrics, Today I Learned Group, Princeton University, Brentwood School
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FriggHome
Hardware
Company offering unspecified services

FriggHome builds a decentralized internet network using plug-in devices that let individuals host edge computing power directly from their homes. This creates a scalable, low-latency alternative to centralized data centers that solves critical infrastructure bottlenecks for the growing AI industry.

  • The network replaces expensive data centers with home devices, offering computing power that is up to 500 times cheaper and much more energy-efficient.
  • They have already pre-sold over $300,000 in hardware and secured a $120,000 annual contract, proving there is real demand before mass production starts.
  • The team consists of repeat founders with successful exits and is advised by prominent computer scientists who helped invent early internet technologies.
  • They hold two international patents for their hardware and have a manufacturing chain ready to produce their devices at scale.
  • By moving data processing closer to users, the platform fixes the speed and cost problems that currently slow down the growth of artificial intelligence.
founder's pitch
FriggHome’s breakthrough is a small plug-in box (FriggBox) that lets people earn money by hosting part of the internet from home, giving businesses faster service at lower cost than big data centers. (b) We grow by selling FriggBox online through our X community, then scale with an affiliate army that turns every sale into both new infrastructure and new distribution.
founder's work & Education
QuantaCore, Yank Media
Heard of Deep Checks through
Ailoys
Hardware
Platform enabling autonomous metal-forming optimization via edge computing

Ailoys builds edge devices that analyze sound signals from industrial machines to detect material defects and automatically adjust production in real time. This technology drastically reduces manufacturing waste and energy use while ensuring higher product quality and faster output.

  • The system listens to machines using sensors that capture millions of signals per second, identifying internal flaws in materials that traditional methods cannot see.
  • Unlike competitors that only monitor equipment health to prevent breakdowns, this software focuses on the quality of the product itself to stop waste before it happens.
  • They sell directly through the manufacturers who build industrial machines, allowing them to scale quickly by becoming a standard feature rather than fighting for individual factory contracts.
  • Pilot programs in metal working have already demonstrated a 30% increase in production speed and massive reductions in scrap material.
  • The leadership team includes a materials scientist with over a dozen years of experience and a former CEO of a global wire production company, blending technical skill with industry know-how.
founder's pitch
Ailoys provides a material-intelligence layer for industrial manufacturing. Our edge device measures material behavior in real time and feeds it back into the machine control loop, reducing scrap, stabilizing quality, and increasing throughput - especially in material-sensitive processes. We go to market through OEM partnerships, where our system is offered as a standard feature on new machines and as a retrofit kit for the installed base. This allows us to compress sales cycles and scale via existing industrial channels.
founder's work & Education
EnerTech International, Inc., NUKEM Technologies Engineering Services GmbH, Hermith GmbH, IESE Business School, Strathmore Business School (SBS), Saratov State University, Russia, Saratov State University named after N.G.Chernyshevsky
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Carbotura
Materials
Platform converting unsorted waste into battery-grade graphite
founder's pitch
Carbotura has developed revolutionary Regenesis technology using Microwave Catalytic Reforming to transform municipal solid waste into high-value materials including graphene, synthetic graphite, and carbon fibers with zero emissions and carbon-negative operations. Unlike traditional waste management that charges tipping fees, Carbotura pays communities for waste while producing strategic materials worth more than the input feedstock. The company has secured two major government contracts valued at approximately $7 billion combined (Pennsylvania and Saudi Arabia) and maintains a robust pipeline of 100+ additional projects across global markets. Customer acquisition operates through a global network of independent agents who receive $100,000 commission per 100 TPD capacity increment funded, enabling rapid market penetration without direct sales infrastructure. With 30-year revenue visibility, government backing, and modular scalability from 100-6,000 TPD facilities, Carbotura represents a fundamental paradigm shift from waste disposal to circular manufacturing.
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Padmanabhan
Materials
Company details not provided

Mirra produces plant-based food colorants using structural color technology to replace toxic synthetic dyes and titanium dioxide. This enables brands to adopt clean ingredients without sacrificing the vibrancy or stability of their products.

  • Instead of using petrochemicals, the company uses corn protein to create color the same way butterfly wings reflect light.
  • Most current food dyes are made from petroleum or toxic minerals that are linked to health issues in children and are increasingly facing bans.
  • Unlike traditional natural dyes that often fade or change texture, these plant-based colors are heat-stable and just as bright as artificial versions.
  • The startup is initially focusing on a safe white food dye to replace titanium dioxide, solving a major problem for brands looking for clean alternatives.
  • They have already secured interest from food companies and are led by a team with deep experience in biomaterials and scaling climate technologies.
founder's pitch
Mirra’s breakthrough replaces toxic food colors through a proprietary process based on “structural color” and matches the performance of synthetic dyes.Starting with JDAs,we plan to move from formulation to deep supply chain integration with Tier-1 food brands and ingredient manufacturers
founder's work & Education
The Biomimicry Institute, Plug and Play Tech Center, Stealth ClimateTech Startup, University of Illinois Chicago, Coimbatore Institute of Technology
Heard of Deep Checks through
EndoCure
Medtech (Hardware)
Ultrasound automation enabling operator-agnostic 3D imaging

EndoCure upgrades standard ultrasound machines with a robotic, AI-powered add-on that automates scanning to deliver high-density 3D imaging. This system eliminates human error and provides MRI-quality diagnostics at a fraction of the cost, making reliable screening accessible to more patients.

  • While standard ultrasounds depend heavily on the operator's hand steadiness, this robotic system automates the movement to ensure consistent results every time.
  • The technology captures data with ten times the density of an MRI, helping doctors find tiny abnormalities that manual scans often miss.
  • Hospitals can keep their current equipment because the device attaches directly to existing machines, offering a cheaper and faster way to upgrade their capabilities.
  • The platform focuses on hard-to-diagnose conditions like endometriosis and bladder cancer, providing a safe alternative to invasive surgeries or expensive CT scans.
  • The leadership team includes the founder of Mazor Robotics, a company sold for over $1 billion, bringing proven experience in getting medical robots to market.
founder's pitch
EndoCure’s core breakthrough is Revealan™, a robotic, AI-powered ultrasound platform that delivers standardized, operator-agnostic, high-density 3D imaging, at least 10× the density of MRI. It is designed as an add-on to existing ultrasound machines, allowing customers to upgrade rather than replace their equipment, for reliable, affordable imaging to anyone, anywhere. We plan to acquire customers by targeting U.S. imaging centers (~15K of those) through clinical validation partnerships, key opinion leaders, and existing CPT reimbursement pathways, starting with FDA clearance and pilot deployments.
founder's work & Education
IN-VENTech, Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI) | BioFabUSA, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, University of Haifa
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HarmonIQ Biosciences
Medtech (Hardware)
Platform enabling continuous hormone monitoring via ISF sensing
founder's pitch
HarmonIQ is pioneering continuous hormone monitoring, transforming blood tests into real-time biological data through a wearable microneedle sensor. We start with fertility clinics to validate and generate revenue, then expand into endocrinology and wellness on a foundation of clinical credibility.
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Drul
Medtech (Hardware)
Diagnostics platform enabling rapid chairside saliva analysis

Drül provides dentists with a rapid saliva testing device that detects oral diseases and biomarkers in under 30 minutes. By delivering lab-grade results during a single patient visit, the platform eliminates wait times and significantly increases treatment acceptance rates.

  • The device shrinks a weeks-long lab process down to a single office visit, allowing dentists to analyze saliva and spot pathogens while the patient is still in the chair.
  • Subjective diagnoses often lead to patients refusing care, but this tool provides hard data that builds trust and helps practices recover lost revenue.
  • The system uses a razor-and-blade model where practices buy the hub once and purchase disposable test chips for every patient, creating a steady stream of recurring income.
  • While focused on gum disease now, the underlying technology is being trained to detect signs of diabetes, oral cancer, and other chronic illnesses from the same sample.
  • The team is led by scientists from Johns Hopkins who have already signed up pilot practices and secured interest from a billion-dollar dental manufacturer.
founder's pitch
Our 5-min DNA prep replaces a 6–8 hr process, enabling a <45-min same-visit oral microbiome test. We’re scaling via dental pilots, manufacturer partnerships, and DSOs serving hundreds of practices.
founder's work & Education
Activate, The Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Mellon University's College of Engineering
Heard of Deep Checks through
Freeman
Quantum (Hardware)
Error suppression platform improving quantum signal fidelity

MK III Technologies builds hardware that acts like active noise cancellation for quantum computers, suppressing errors in real-time without disturbing delicate qubits. This approach solves critical reliability issues, enabling the industry to finally run complex and useful algorithms.

  • Quantum computers make mistakes too often to be useful right now, but this startup fixes that by using hardware to cancel out noise instantly, similar to how noise-canceling headphones work.
  • Instead of measuring the sensitive quantum bits directly, which breaks them, the system listens to the surrounding environment to spot and stop errors before they happen.
  • Most competitors try to fix errors with slow software after they occur, but this device works much faster by correcting problems inside the hardware itself.
  • The technology is inspired by how DNA fixes its own copying errors, allowing it to turn a few noisy quantum bits into a stable system that can actually run programs.
  • The business model is highly profitable, as they can build their hardware modules for roughly $75,000 and sell them to quantum companies for $2 million.
founder's pitch
We're enabling the quantum revolution through active noise cancellation for qubits. We target this niche that no one else has because their assumptions made it impossible. We will acquire customers by leveraging our technical advisor Dr. Christian Arenz's validation in both cold and warm outreach.
founder's work & Education
Gunnar Stone Inc., Purdue University, Arizona State University, Word of Life Bible Institute
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Set
Robotics
Platform integrating humans, software agents, and robots

Set builds an intelligence layer that coordinates workflows between humans, robots, and digital agents in physical spaces like factories and clinics. By managing these mixed teams in real-time, the platform eliminates slow manual handoffs and boosts productivity through autonomous efficiency.

  • Current workplaces suffer from isolated workflows where humans and robots struggle to coordinate without slow manual intervention.
  • This platform acts as a central conductor that assigns tasks and manages complex operations for mixed teams of people and machines simultaneously.
  • The system uses real-time planning to adapt instantly to changes in the physical world, ensuring work continues smoothly even when unexpected issues arise.
  • The founders are researchers from companies like NVIDIA and Amazon who have previously built robot memory systems and reasoning models for real-world use.
  • Instead of being limited to one type of machine, the software connects any robot or digital tool into a single efficient system across industries like manufacturing and healthcare.
founder's pitch
{Set} is reimagining the future of labor with open-world planning systems to dynamically orchestrate robot-agent-human teams in physical operations. Built on PhD research in hybrid planning and VLAs, we are redefining end-to-end physical workflows across manufacturing, data centers, and clinics.
founder's work & Education
University of Southern California, Cornell University, The University of Texas at Austin, National University of Singapore, George Ranch High School
Heard of Deep Checks through
Araknode
Robotics
Robots performing continuous NDT on maritime infrastructure

Araknode deploys climbing robots that live permanently on ships and oil rigs to automate dangerous safety inspections. By replacing sporadic manual checks with continuous monitoring, the platform prevents costly equipment failures and keeps human workers out of hazardous zones.

  • Current inspections rely on people hanging from ropes with clipboards, which is slow, dangerous, and often misses critical defects.
  • Instead of sending crews out for occasional checks, these robots stay on the structure 24/7 to catch problems the moment they start.
  • The system takes human inspectors out of deadly environments like confined tanks and high-altitude zones where accident rates are significantly higher than average.
  • The software turns spotty paper records into a constant stream of digital data, allowing companies to fix machinery before it breaks rather than reacting after a failure.
  • They are preparing for a major demonstration in Singapore with government support, positioning them directly in front of key maritime industry leaders.
founder's pitch
Developing a six legged climbing platform for ferrogmagnetic surfaces. We have an in with Pier71 a goverment run maritime accelerator which puts you in front of all maritime players in Singapore (which is esentially the whole industry) - and are doing customer conversations ahead of time.
founder's work & Education
KTH Royal Institute of Technology, AMC Robotics, Asteroid Mining Corporation Ltd, Aalto University, Marburg University, Tohoku University
Heard of Deep Checks through
Haptica
Robotics
Robotics dexterity leveraging textile-based pneumatic tactile sensing

Haptica builds durable, textile-based sensors that give robots a sense of touch, enabling them to handle delicate objects and perform complex tasks that vision-only systems cannot. This technology unlocks new automation capabilities in manufacturing and logistics by allowing machines to physically feel and adapt to their surroundings.

  • Most robot sensors break easily and cost a lot, but this startup uses tough fabric and air pressure to make a robotic skin that is reliable and affordable.
  • While current robots have trouble picking up soft or breakable things like fruit or wine glasses, this system gives them the sensitivity needed for these delicate jobs.
  • The sensors work with any robot immediately and do not need the constant recalibration that slows down other systems.
  • Beyond just selling hardware, the company is building a subscription data platform that helps engineers train their AI models using touch information.
  • The team is led by experts from Stanford and Apple and is advised by industry legends, including the founder of iRobot.
founder's pitch
Sensing for robots
founder's work & Education
Hoover Institution, Stanford University, ETH Zürich, Apple, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich
Heard of Deep Checks through
Archimede
Space
IoT solutions provider enabling off-grid telemetry and control

Archimede creates self-powered, plug-and-play satellite kits that allow companies to monitor infrastructure in remote areas without complex wiring. By turning custom engineering projects into simple off-grid solutions, they enable reliable tracking of critical assets anywhere on Earth.

  • The hardware comes as an all-in-one kit with its own power source, so users do not need to install external wiring or build complex infrastructure.
  • Setting up the system is easy because it uses drag-and-drop software, meaning anyone can manage it without needing advanced coding skills.
  • The device automatically switches between satellite, 5G, and LoRa networks to ensure data keeps flowing even in the most isolated locations.
  • Major organizations like the European Space Agency support the project, and the team has already secured paid contracts from large industrial companies.
  • Their business model combines one-time hardware sales with a recurring software subscription, creating a steady income stream as they grow.
founder's pitch
Our breakthrough turns satellite IoT from bespoke engineering into a repeatable product: a self-powered off-grid kit with message-native satellite connectivity and a programmable open-source layer. We don’t sell bandwidth, we sell deployable outcomes in remote environments.
founder's work & Education
Liberotratto Srl, hackspace catania, Futuro Solare, Accademia di belle Arti di Catania, Accademia di Belle Arti di Catania
Heard of Deep Checks through
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