Ethan Mirsky

3D printing is having a breakout moment, turning its long held promise into a reality that is arriving at pace and at scale. Over the next 5 years: - Consumers will expect customized products at scale - Computers will surpass human creativity and skill in product design - New infrastructure is needed to protect IP if anything can be printed anywhere  - Global supply chains will be meaningfully dismantled as products get printed at their point of sale I sat down with Philip DeSimone, Co-founder of Carbon, the most advanced 3D printing company already operating at scale serving customers in 17 countries ranging from Adidas to Ford. With over 300 patents filed, Carbon has raised $680M from the likes of Sequoia, Temasek, and Google. Check out 5YF Episode #14: 3D printing breakthroughs, AI designed products, mass customization, spare body parts, dismantling global trade, IP piracy, and the future of production w/ Carbon Co-founder Philip DeSimone https://pod.fo/e/234185 #3Dprinting

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When I talk about investing in SpaceTech startups, people are often skeptical. They believe that it's impossible to make money in this sector. Today, at Space Ambition, we interviewed Michael Mealling, a partner of Starbridge Venture Capital. The fund invests in Seed - Series B. Among their portfolio companies are Axiom Space, Umbra, Lynk Global, AlumaPower Corporation, SpaceX, Commonwealth Fusion Systems. They have made a 80x return on invested capital on their first space fund! I hope this article will also inspire you to start investing in SpaceTech or building space startups:)  https://lnkd.in/ex7HJRJq

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A SAFE and convertible note had a baby and Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati was the midwife- out popped the D-SAFE! 👶🏽🎉 A new #climatetech funding instrument was announced by Elemental Excelerator last week. One of the company’s main goals is to support smaller, up and coming companies during the awkward “Scale Gap” phase between #VC funding and natural growth. It’s called the #DSAFE (Development Simple Agreement for Future Equity) and it aims to aid the process by giving companies a small amount of cash to overcome initial risks and expenses during the developmental stages of a product launch or company. How does it work? D-SAFE has a redemption clause meaning companies can choose to have their payments offered as a loan or convert to equity at the investor’s discretion. Funders and companies will have clear communication and expectations about where the money is going and how it will be applied to either the company or the projects at hand. Financiers and companies will work together with more #transparency, and that’s a great boon for #startups and VC alike. As of this month, Elemental has already invested using D-SAFE in eight different companies, including Dimensional Energy and Origen — both companies investing in innovative and out-of-the-box solutions to environmental issues! Seems like a win-win on the surface. What do you all think about the D-SAFE? Alfredo Coppola Momoka Ueda Tim Wagner Stephen D. Torres Olya Irzak Natsuho Toyama Noriya Tarutani Shin Ogawa

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INVESTING IN CLIMATE TECH IS SOOO SIMPLE: PART I After a spectacular closing session to #ClimateWeekSF at 9Zero, I thought I'd share a few morsels from our sustainable VC session (organized by Niki Gastinel & moderated by Ron Erd w/ fellow panelists Joshua Posamentier Nare Janvelyan, PhD & Shaun Chaudhuri). Top 3 DD questions I seek to answer: I         Would I work for this person? I've been a founder 5x (3 startups, 2 VC funds) & always seeking to grow. When I'm being pitched by a founder, I imagine what it would be like to work for them, because, while team is important, the CEO is everything. The CEOs I back have: ·     Command of the Market: They are intimate with & drive discourse on distro channels, market players/dynamics, the competitive landscape & where the ball is going. All about founder-market fit! ·     Evangelical Sales Ability: They’re always selling, intelligently, whether it’s for recruiting, fund-raising, distribution... ·     EQ IQ: I back intelligent founders but I want that paired with street savvy & deep understanding of what to prioritize & when, not just how to do it. I look for emotional intelligence & how they read the room & adjust comms. I look for CEOs that have done the hard work on their own personal growth & have the right lens to make big decisions. ·     Battle-tested: I look for founders that are resilient & risk-tolerant. They have been tested in some aspect of their lives: personal challenges (athletics, hardship, military) and/or professional challenges. II        Is there a Big Accessible Market (BAM)? ·     Big TAM: I invest in companies seeking unicorn performance (financial & impact). Matters less where the TAM is today but more importantly where it's going. ·     Clear and Present Sales Channel: I want to see a beefy sales channel(s) with a clear decision maker; tangible, massive pain for this painkiller solution (not a vitamin); and an accretive path for the customer. Know who your actual buyer is. Hint: It’s not the sustainability exec! ·     Weighted Average Pipeline: I want to see a well thought out, organized sales pipeline that is dynamically linked to your financial forecasts & produces a justifiable exciting ARR forecast. ·     Product Market Fit: Because we do seed, we only see the beginnings of traction & sometimes focusing too much on fit can lead to a false negative. This is the time for risk-taking & iteration so you can learn. It’s more about DDing the product as an extension of how the team thinks & executes. III      Is There Big Accessible Impact? ·     Paul Hawken: We have Paul & he is unabashed about rooting out pretenders when it comes to impact. If he doesn’t buy your impact, we won’t invest. It’s that simple. ·     Qualitative: Because we are software first & seed stage investors, we don’t do hard core quant on your impact. We do our best to gauge the potential decarbonization impact of your company at scale. You know it when you see it. What questions do you ask?

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Earlier this week Texture, led by CEO & co-founder Sanjiv Sanghavi, announced its $7.5m seed round of fundraising with participation from Abstract Ventures, Day One Ventures, Equal Ventures, Lerer Hippeau, and a handful of angels. Dorothy Chang and I feel fortunate to count ourselves among the “handful of angels.” We didn’t invest just because Sanjiv is a close friend - though knowing him for over a decade has given us a lot of insight into his mind and how he operates. We invested for a lot of the typical reasons a VC would: Solving big problems with big potential returns - Venture investments only make sense if they have the chance to make massive returns. Texture is building the data infrastructure for energy networks - becoming a common data collection and sharing platform for every player in the energy grid, no matter the type of energy. There is already a huge gaping problem and a huge market here. Building for an inevitable future - On a macro level, as a society, we are moving more and more toward complex, interconnected energy sources as we optimize for the right balance of efficiency, sustainability and costs. Unique insight and founder-market fit - At a first glance, Texture seems like a big departure from what we originally knew Sanjiv from, as a Co-Founder of ClassPass. But since then, he has also played roles as the Chief Product officer at Arcadia, a successful energy data company (Arcadia’s CEO is also an investor in Texture) as well as an investor at Day One Ventures, investing in the energy/climate tech sector.  More details in this week's post: https://lnkd.in/eGBzXHwC

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Can poop save the planet? 🤔 Well, in Silicon Valley, it's not just a punchline—it's a multimillion-dollar climate solution. Big players are teaming up with startup Vaulted Deep, paying $58.3 million, to pump organic waste underground. The deal was brokered by Frontier Climate, a coalition launched in 2022 by Stripe, Alphabet, Meta, Shopify, and McKinsey Sustainability. But why are tech giants getting their hands dirty with sewage and manure? Vaulted Deep's technology, rooted in decades-old methods used for oil and gas fracking cleanup, gives them an edge. But instead of sludge, they're tackling carbon-rich waste, aiming to sequester CO2 underground. They plan to sequester 152,480 tons of carbon dioxide by 2027 as part of the deal (That equates to 36,000 gas cars off the road for a year). Is this greenwashing, or a silver bullet? Critics warn of cost, the need for rigorous carbon accounting, and potential environmental trade-offs - i.e. emission prevention versus carbon removal. #decarbonization

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Partnering with startups can help companies to "solve a product problem, create a new avenue for revenue, accelerate R&D, or accelerate time to market for a specific product," according to Otilia Barbuta, principal at HP Tech Ventures, the venture capital arm of HP. She was talking at a breakout session at Circularity 2024. "There are solutions in the market created by startups and in this circularity realm, I think it's more important than ever to partner with [them]." #climatetech #startups #climateVC

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#TBThursday … In 2010 Tony Fadell co-founded Nest Labs to reinvent thermostats. Based on the founder’s pedigree and press coverage I figured Nest would be an active patent filer. By November 2011 it was approaching 18 months since the date of founding, so any patent applications filed around that time would soon be published. A search of USPTO databases found nothing. OK ... that was just fine because it gave me room to have some fun. What technology would be disclosed in the first patent application?    I wrote “In terms of hardware there is likely a micro-controller with embedded memory for code, maybe some stand-alone memory ... sensors and communications integrated circuits. At first glance this seems to be a pretty standard kit for data collection and control...   What about software or methods of operation? Like the old analogue thermostats, the Nest thermostat takes a minimum of inputs. The Nest website suggests there are two. A heat to temperature and a cool to temperature. Once these are entered the thermostat learns, which is where it becomes interesting. One might envision “A System and Method for Controlling Temperature” incorporating the two temperature settings and data collected during operation thereof.”   In April 2012 the USPTO database started to light up. US 2012/0065783 or “Thermodynamic Modelling of Enclosures” was the first published application. It turned out I was not too far off in my earlier thinking. Within a short time, there were 20+ published applications. They were busy inventing and protecting!   https://lnkd.in/ekbPMBCh #patents #nestlabs #ipmart #ipstrategy

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Are you developing a medical device or digital health? Come learn about regulatory and legal impacts and how design for manufacturing is critical to your startup's success.

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How much power do you feel like you hold at the local and national scale? 🤔 For those of us working in the climate realm, it's not always clear how our daily tasks can influence systemic shifts toward a green economy. Tonight, come hang with Climate Collective San Diego as we unpack climate policy and learn about tools and actions we can use to influence the decison-making process in our community 🏡 🌊 https://lu.ma/ie8o254a

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https://lnkd.in/d8Fh2HXR FOAK (and my quote) has made it to the WSJ. Thanks Ed Ballard and Amrith Ramkumar. Yet the WSJ missed the “why” behind first of-a-kind. It is about catalyzing audacious climate solutions - the next generation of Teslas. We all know that FOAK is very very hard. And not every FOAK company will succeed. But the ones that do have a potential to transform their sector. A shout out to all the future climate giants who embrace the daily grind of FOAK and are succeeding. Solugen, Antora Energy, Fervo Energy, Boston Metal, Electric Hydrogen, LanzaTech, CO280, Carbon Upcycling Technologies, NET Power Climeworks, Heirloom, Arbor, Panthalassa, H2 Green Steel, Northvolt, Koloma, Syzygy Plasmonics to just name a few… #FOAK As JFK said, "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”

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SAFE rounds are on the rise as bridge rounds proliferate. And less & less investors want to lead early-stage rounds. This means that startups may have to contend with multiple SAFEs that are "stacked", making dilution projections complicated and potentially unfavorable to founders. Stepan Khzrtian navigates us through this complexity with the following article exceptionally well.

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I'm thrilled to announce our strategic investment in TETMET led by founder Tom Vroemen! Their core technology is Adaptive Spatial Lattice Manufacturing (ASLM). This approach to manufacturing is useful for pretty much all Deep Tech industries, including automobiles, aircraft, and spacecraft! 🚀 About Tetmet Core tech: Tetmet's ASLM leverages robotic assembly through precise laser spot welding, guided by proprietary AI algorithms. Applications: The potential applications for Tetmet’s ASLM technology are endless – from aerospace to automotive, promising to transform any industries that require structural integrity. Benefits: The benefits for manufacturers are staggering, saving up to 90% in energy costs, up to 70% in material costs, and up to 60% weight reduction for the end product! Scientific Foundation: Rooted in decades of research into lattice structures, Tetmet is well-protected by their IP strategy. Tom Vroemen shared: "I am truly impressed by the power of rpv’s network and the depth of their due diligence capabilities. Their understanding and commitment to deep tech are unparalleled. We need more funds that really want to understand what their investments do, rather than looking for external data points. Paradigm shifters can't be found by following peers." Why rpv is Investing in Tetmet: Exceptional Leadership: Tom Vroemen’s innovative vision and proven track record align perfectly with rpv’s investment philosophy. Advanced Material Science: Tetmet’s elegant approach to building materials of superior properties offers unparalleled advantages in strength and adaptability. Transformative Potential: The broad applications of Tetmet’s ASLM technology promise to revolutionize manufacturing processes and product quality across various sectors. At rpv, we are excited to support Tetmet’s journey and witness the profound impact of their technology. Their approach to building superior materials through deep scientific research aligns with our commitment to supporting transformative, scientifically-driven businesses. This investment will enable Tetmet to accelerate its growth, expand its market reach, and further develop its innovative ASLM technology. Together, we are advancing manufacturing processes and enhancing product durability globally. 🌐 #deeptech #aerospace #automotive #manufacturing #VC Thomas J. White IV

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It was very fun to develop this AI judge for Climatech's Great Global Innovation Challenge and see it in action. Research has demonstrated that "Data-driven initiatives have been shown to help VC firms reduce gender bias and make better, fairer investment decisions" (https://lnkd.in/g2afQDnv / https://lnkd.in/gDnf4att). Additionally, "Machine learning models have already been proven to outperform human investors in deal screening" (https://lnkd.in/g2afQDnv / https://lnkd.in/gwGAmbET), helping to identify high-potential startups more effectively. By incorporating AI into our evaluation process, we aimed to ensure a more equitable and objective selection of startups. Thanks Tod Hynes Daniela G. Alejandro Sevilla Russ W. ClimaTech Live for the great collaboration. #climate #AI #climatechange #startups #startupcompetition

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Thrilled to announce the launch of our inaugural edition of Beyond Benchmarks at Emergence Capital. This comprehensive report dives deep into the metrics and trends shaping the early-stage enterprise cloud market. A huge thank you to our VC partners and contributors for making this possible! Here's a sneak peek of our findings: --> 60% of companies have already integrated GenAI into their service offerings, with another 20% planning to do so this year. --> While most companies use OpenAI as their primary LLM, many are experimenting with multiple models. We’re seeing a trend toward intelligently routing GenAI inference requests based on cost, performance, and security. --> Companies that have implemented GenAI are showing promising results, with a 7% higher NDR compared to those that haven’t. Beyond Benchmarks goes further with more GenAI trends, insights on the current fundraising environment, and key performance metrics. Our goal is to provide founders and their teams with valuable benchmarks to help them make better-informed decisions. At Emergence Capital, we're committed to helping founders build iconic companies. Dive into the full report here: https://lnkd.in/g6bnvAZM

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Some more insight into what we are building at Aerodome 📈🚀

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Climate change often focuses on reducing carbon emissions, but what about methane? Unlike carbon, which is a waste captured for disposal, methane holds untapped potential as energy that can be repurposed. Startup Windfall Bio’s solution intrigued me: Methane-eating microbes that convert emissions into fertilizer. They supply them to industries like agriculture, oil and gas, and landfills, where companies have the option to either use the fertilizer themselves or sell it for additional revenue. This not only offers a low-cost alternative to traditional carbon capture methods but also creates a near-term revenue stream for companies. While carbon reduction has long been the focus, methane's shorter lifespan (10-12 years) and potential for repurposing make it a promising avenue for immediate impact. Founder: Josh Silverman “It was a long road getting here, lots of years of zero traction.. Now that the traction is there and there aren’t very many people working in this area, there aren’t that many competitors. We are the best of the very few options. As I’ve said, ‘in my land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.’” #Climate #Innovation #Methane

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What do you think about having an AI judge review startups along with human judges in the inaugural ClimaTech Great Global Innovation Challenge? We have posted information on how we are doing this, including the AI prompt, and you can share feedback through the form on this page: https://lnkd.in/ezVnvGiG While AI will play a role, our human judges will make the final decisions, ensuring a balanced and fair evaluation process. We're committed to learning from this experience and sharing our insights. Please reach out to me if you are interested in helping with the competition in any way. Research has demonstrated that "Data-driven initiatives have been shown to help VC firms reduce gender bias and make better, fairer investment decisions" (https://lnkd.in/ecfqqgj3). Additionally, "Machine learning models have already been proven to outperform human investors in deal screening" (https://lnkd.in/exicBiTR), helping to identify high-potential startups more effectively. By incorporating AI into our evaluation process, we aim to support an objective selection of startups. As a reminder, applications are due on May 26th. Daniela G., MIT Climate and Energy Prize, #Innovation #AI #Startups #ClimateTech #GlobalChallenge #TechForGood #Sustainability #Climatechlive #MITCEP #MIT #AIJudge #Pitch

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