Fluid Efficiency is a Caltech spin-out that builds MegaSupraMolecules (MSMs), self-assembling polymers that change how fluids move. Its flagship product is a removable drag-reducing agent for natural gas liquids (NGL) pipelines - a fluid class where conventional drag reducers can't be used because leftover polymer fouls downstream fractionation equipment. By letting the additive be removed before sensitive processing, Fluid Efficiency helps midstream operators push more volume through existing pipelines without building new ones. The same polymer platform also reduces fuel misting (and the explosion risk that comes with it), improves lubricant viscosity, and aids long-distance pumping of crude and refined products.
Molten Industries is an Oakland, California climate-hardware startup that uses methane pyrolysis to crack natural gas into clean hydrogen and high-value synthetic graphite, with no carbon dioxide emitted in the process. Founded in 2021 by Dr. Caleb Boyd and Dr. Kevin Bush, the company aims to onshore battery supply chains and decarbonize heavy industry by producing battery-grade graphite for lithium-ion cells and low-cost clean hydrogen for fuels, ammonia, plastics, and green steel. It raised a $25M Series A in June 2024 led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures to build its first modular commercial reactor.
Quantum Boost is a London-based deep-tech startup building an AI formulation assistant for the chemicals and materials industry. Its platform uses Bayesian optimization and machine learning to help R&D scientists design smarter experiments, cut the number of lab trials needed to hit a target, and surface insights from existing experimental data. The company claims its approach reaches formulation targets roughly 2-5x faster than traditional Design of Experiments (DoE), and serves teams working on inks, paints and coatings, pharmaceuticals, and specialty chemicals.
Knowde is a B2B digital marketplace and AI-powered master data platform for the chemicals, polymers and ingredients industry. It helps chemical suppliers and distributors digitize fragmented product data, launch storefronts, and reach the researchers, formulators, and procurement buyers who need their materials.
Nicholas Flanders is the Co-Founder and CEO of Twelve, a carbon transformation company that converts CO2, water, and renewable electricity into sustainable aviation fuel and carbon-neutral chemicals. A Stanford MBA and former McKinsey consultant, Flanders co-founded Twelve (originally Opus 12) in 2015 alongside scientists Dr. Etosha Cave and Dr. Kendra Kuhl to commercialize breakthrough electrochemical CO2 conversion technology developed at Stanford. The company has raised over $790 million, including a $645 million financing round in 2024 led by TPG Rise Climate, and is building AirPlant One - the world's first commercial-scale e-fuels facility - in Moses Lake, Washington.
Hermann Tribukait is the co-founder and CEO of Atinary Technologies, a Lausanne- and Silicon Valley-based deeptech startup that built SDLabs — a no-code AI/ML platform compressing years of R&D into days. A Harvard-trained economist who helped coin the term 'Self-Driving Labs®' in 2017, Tribukait has channeled a career spent brokering $200M+ in global R&D partnerships into software that lets machines design experiments, learn from results, and iterate without human bias getting in the way. Atinary's tools are now used in pharma, biotech, chemicals, and climate tech, with a physical self-driving lab open in Boston since early 2026.