physics-based-modeling
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ResFrac Corporation
ResFrac Corporation builds the industry's only fully coupled hydraulic fracturing and reservoir simulator, letting energy engineers model the full life of a well - from the first crack in the rock to years of production - in one continuous physics-based simulation. Founded in 2015 by Stanford-trained engineer Mark McClure, the Palo Alto company is used by over 35 operators and 50 institutions worldwide across shale, conventional and enhanced geothermal plays.
Fathom Therapeutics
Fathom Therapeutics (formerly Atommap) is a New York and Boston based biotech building Microcosmos, a drug-design engine that fuses quantum chemistry and AI to simulate how proteins actually move inside living cells. By modeling motion instead of static snapshots - reportedly up to 10,000x faster than conventional simulation - the company hunts for the fleeting binding pockets that make 'undruggable' targets druggable, then designs small molecules, degraders, and molecular glues against them. In April 2026 it raised a $47M oversubscribed Series A led by Sutter Hill Ventures.
Stand
Stand is a San Francisco insurtech that uses physics-based simulation and AI to underwrite and insure homes in places most carriers have abandoned - the wildfire belt of California and the hurricane corridors of Florida. Instead of statistical averages, Stand builds a digital twin of each property and models how embers, wind, and water would actually attack it, pairing coverage with concrete mitigation upgrades.
Dan Preston
Dan Preston is the co-founder and CEO of Stand Insurance, a San Francisco-based insurtech company using physics-driven AI and digital property twins to insure climate-impacted homes in wildfire and hurricane zones. A Stanford-trained computer scientist, Preston previously led Metromile as CEO from 2014 to 2022, guiding it through a SPAC IPO on NASDAQ and eventual acquisition by Lemonade. At Stand, he has raised $65 million across two rounds and grown the company to over $1 billion in insured value within its first year, with expansion into Florida's catastrophe market. His vision: insurance as an active driver of community resilience, not just a financial safety net.