# Ranulfo Allen

> Ranulfo (Randy) Allen is the co-founder and CEO of Still Bright, a New Jersey deep-tech startup using a vanadium-based electrochemical process to pull refined copper out of ore - and out of mine waste - at room temperature and pressure, no smelter required. A Princeton-trained chemical engineer with a Stanford PhD and a Dartmouth MBA, Allen spent years on the other side of the table as a venture investor and startup mentor before deciding to build the thing himself. Still Bright raised an $18.7M seed in 2025 led by Material Impact and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, betting that the looming copper shortage is solvable if you stop burning rock and start running electricity through it.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Still Bright
- **Organizations:** Still Bright, Material Impact, Activate, Pillar VC, Frost & Sullivan, Pascalor
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BS, Chemical Engineering, Princeton University, PhD, Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, MBA, Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College
- **Known for:** Co-founded and leads Still Bright, developer of a patented room-temperature, room-pressure hydrometallurgical process for copper., Raised an $18.7M seed round led by Material Impact and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, with Azolla Ventures, Fortescue, Impact Science Ventures and SOSV participating., Built a pilot unit producing roughly 2 tons of copper per year, with equipment said to cost 70-90% less than traditional pyrometallurgical systems.

## Career timeline

- **2008** — Graduates from Princeton with a BS in chemical engineering.
- **2013** — Earns a PhD in chemical engineering at Stanford, studying carbon nanotube and conductive polymer composites under Zhenan Bao and Gerald Fuller.
- **2013-2015** — Postdoctoral research in smart plastics, flexible and wearable electronics, health monitoring and 3D printing, partly at UT Dallas.
- **2015** — Founds and serves as CTO of Pascalor, an IoT sensor-manufacturing startup.
- **2017** — Joins Frost & Sullivan as a research analyst covering chemicals, materials and food science.
- **2019** — Moves into venture capital, including a venture role at Pillar VC backing scientific founders.
- **2021** — Becomes Activate's first Boston-based Executive-in-Residence, mentoring first-time science entrepreneurs.
- **2023** — Joins Material Impact as a Company Building Partner.
- **2025** — Becomes co-founder and CEO of Still Bright (February); leads its $18.7M seed round.

## Achievements

- Co-founded and leads Still Bright, developer of a patented room-temperature, room-pressure hydrometallurgical process for copper.
- Raised an $18.7M seed round led by Material Impact and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, with Azolla Ventures, Fortescue, Impact Science Ventures and SOSV participating.
- Built a pilot unit producing roughly 2 tons of copper per year, with equipment said to cost 70-90% less than traditional pyrometallurgical systems.
- Earlier founded Pascalor, an IoT sensor manufacturer, as CTO.
- Served as Activate's first Boston Executive-in-Residence, mentoring dozens of first-time science entrepreneurs.

## Latest updates

- **2025-07** — TechCrunch profiles Still Bright's electrochemical copper process and Allen's plan to be among the cheapest producers.
- **2025-08** — Still Bright's $18.7M seed round closes, led by Material Impact and Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

## Links

- Website: https://stillbright.co
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ranulfoallen

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ranulfo-allen
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-21