# Brenden Prins-McKinney

> Brenden Prins-McKinney is the co-founder and CEO of Duranium (YC S25), an Alameda, California company working to bring critical light metal production - titanium, magnesium, aluminum, zirconium and hafnium - back to American soil. A Stanford Law graduate and Knight-Hennessy Scholar with a research background at McKinsey and a stint as a Goldman Sachs banker, he advised the Department of Defense on reshoring critical chemical production before deciding to build the supply chain himself. He pairs a policy-and-finance brain with chemistry borrowed from the 1950s, modernized so the U.S. can make metals it currently buys almost entirely from China and Russia.

- **Role:** Co-Founder and CEO at Duranium
- **Organizations:** Duranium, Zua, Stanford Law School, McKinsey & Company, Goldman Sachs
- **From:** Los Angeles, California, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.A. in Economics, McGill University, J.D. (Knight-Hennessy Scholar, 2022 cohort), Stanford Law School, Ph.D. in Sociology (pursued), Stanford University, School of Humanities and Sciences
- **Known for:** Co-founded and leads Duranium, a Y Combinator S25 company reshoring critical metal production to the U.S., Knight-Hennessy Scholar at Stanford University (2022 cohort), Advised the U.S. Department of Defense on reshoring critical chemical production while at McKinsey, including time with the Defense Logistics Agency

## Career timeline

- **2017** — Co-founded Zua, an index-based crop microinsurance initiative for subsistence farmers in Zambia, with McGill classmate Meagan Prins
- **2019** — Joined McKinsey & Company in Washington, D.C.; research fellow with the McKinsey Global Institute and the McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility
- **2022** — Named a Knight-Hennessy Scholar at Stanford, pursuing a J.D. at Stanford Law
- **2025** — Co-founded Duranium with Berkley Noble; joined Y Combinator's Summer 2025 (S25) batch as Co-Founder and CEO
- **2026** — Targeting a Bay Area pilot plant operational by June 2026

## Achievements

- Co-founded and leads Duranium, a Y Combinator S25 company reshoring critical metal production to the U.S.
- Knight-Hennessy Scholar at Stanford University (2022 cohort)
- Advised the U.S. Department of Defense on reshoring critical chemical production while at McKinsey, including time with the Defense Logistics Agency
- Co-founded Zua, delivering index-based crop insurance to subsistence farmers - mostly women - in rural Zambia
- Built Duranium to a benchtop-proven process producing magnesium and converting CO2 to CO feedstock

## Latest updates

- **2025-08** — Duranium launched as part of Y Combinator's Summer 2025 batch.
- **2026-06** — Duranium targeting its Bay Area pilot plant to be operational by June 2026.

## Links

- Website: https://duranium.co
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brenden-prins-mckinney-96959a69/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/brenden-prins-mckinney
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Last updated: 2026-06-25