# Gurinder Nagra

> Gurinder Nagra is the founder and CEO of Furno Materials, a South San Francisco climate-tech company building the world's first modular, energy-efficient cement plant. Born in India, raised in rural Griffith, Australia, and trained as a geoscientist at UNSW and Stanford, he traded a boyhood cricket dream for a fight against cement's outsized carbon footprint. Furno's compact kilns use oxyfuel combustion to make ASTM-certified cement at lower cost and far lower emissions; in 2024 the company's cement tested at twice the ASTM strength standard, closed an oversubscribed $6.5M seed round, and Nagra landed on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Furno Materials
- **Organizations:** Furno Materials, Breakthrough Energy Fellows, Stanford University, UNSW Sydney
- **From:** India
- **Nationality:** Australian (born in India)
- **Education:** Bachelor of Advanced Science (Hons), Earth Science, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Master of Science, Earth Systems Science (doctoral research in carbon capture and storage), Stanford University
- **Known for:** Founded Furno Materials (2020), developer of the world's first modular, energy-efficient cement plant., Named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list (Energy)., Selected as a Breakthrough Energy Fellow.

## Career timeline

- **~2000** — Moves from India to Griffith, rural New South Wales, Australia, at age seven with his parents and sister.
- **2010s** — Earns a Bachelor of Advanced Science (Earth Science) at UNSW Sydney; mentored by Professor Andy Baker; does a summer at Oxford and volunteers in Zimbabwe.
- **2017** — Wins a funded PhD place at Stanford to research turning CO2 into a marketable limestone product.
- **2020** — Founds Furno Materials to decarbonize cement production.
- **2024-03** — Furno closes an oversubscribed $6.5M seed round led by Energy Capital Ventures.
- **2024** — Named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 (Energy) list.
- **2024-10** — Furno's cement achieves ASTM C150 certification and tests at twice the ASTM strength standard.

## Achievements

- Founded Furno Materials (2020), developer of the world's first modular, energy-efficient cement plant.
- Named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list (Energy).
- Selected as a Breakthrough Energy Fellow.
- Furno cement achieved ASTM C150 certification and tested at 2x the ASTM compressive-strength standard (Oct 2024).
- Raised an oversubscribed $6.5M seed round (total funding ~$9-11M) from Energy Capital Ventures, Cantos, Neotribe, and O'Shaughnessy Ventures.
- Built a pilot reactor producing up to half a ton of cement per day, with plans for 20-ton-per-day modular plants.

## Latest updates

- **2024-03** — Furno closed an oversubscribed $6.5M seed round led by Energy Capital Ventures.
- **2024-10** — Furno cement achieved ASTM C150 certification and tested at twice the ASTM strength standard.

## Links

- Website: https://furno.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gurindernagra
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livingguriously/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/gurinder-nagra
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-24