Climate Capital has invested in 300+ climate startups since 2015. CC Insights shares what we are learning about the early stage climate tech ecosystem. Co-invest with us.
There’s never been a better or more important time to decarbonize our highest polluting industries, yet the path to climate entrepreneurship is inaccessible and funding remains misaligned with our emissions reduction priorities. In response, Climate Capital Bio presents Juniper Zero: a free, virtual incubator for founders building at the intersection of climate and biotech. Apply today.
The first human genome was sequenced in 2003 for $3 billion. Today, you can have your entire genetic sequence mapped for as little as $200. This plunge in sequencing costs is fueling a biotech revolution. While the media often spotlights the medical breakthroughs stemming from these advancements, human health actually represents just a fraction of the bio-economy. The majority of biotech innovations are happening in sectors like food & ag, materials synthesis, and industrials, enabled by Synthetic Biology (SynBio) – our ability to engineer living things (such as microorganisms, plants, and animals) or biological parts (such as enzymes and metabolic pathways) to create new functions or products. In fact, over 60% of all physical inputs to the global economy can be synthesized through bio-manufacturing.
As the cost of engineering biology continues to drop and the breadth of real-world problems biology can solve explodes as a result, the golden age of bringing SynBio innovations to market is upon us. For the first time in history, more life science PhDs are working in industry than academia. In 2022, industry employed 48.1% of PhDs while academia hit a historical low of 32.5% across all disciplines. The expansion of opportunities for company creation, industry jobs, and funding, along with other cultural factors, is bringing more of synthetic biology’s brightest minds into business, and this shift couldn’t come at a better time for the planet.
Leaps in synthetic biology have made key techniques like gene editing and precision fermentation faster, more affordable, and, crucially, easier to scale. These SynBio techniques have the potential to revolutionize underinvested climate verticals, such as manufacturing, chemicals, food & ag, and the built environment, which make up 75% of overall GHG emissions but have received a disproportionately low share of climate funding compared to energy and transportation. At Climate Capital Bio, we’re already witnessing the beginning of this innovation wave: from chocolate bars and coffee grown from plant cells, microbes that enable climate-resilient farming, to polyurethane made without toxic fossil fuel-based chemicals - these are just a few of the companies that we’ve invested in that we’re watching change the world.
A historically high number of PhDs in industry doesn’t mean that the path from PhD to entrepreneur is easy. Anything but! There’s a current accessible pipeline for life science graduates into the Bayers and Pfizers of the world, but one of the highest impact careers these scientists could embark on is to found and/or work for the startups that will become the new, green, industrial giants of the 21st century. Federal grants funded through new legislation like the CHIPS and Science Act, Inflation Reduction Act, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law have blown wind under the wings of fledgling biotech companies, but they need more support from the private sector to usher them out of the lab and into the bio-economy.
Recognizing biology’s potential to decarbonize the world’s least sustainable verticals, and harnessing the momentum of public and private sector interest in the bioeconomy, we are thrilled to announce that we are supporting early stage founders through Juniper Zero.
Funded by a federal grant from the Minority Business Development Agency’s Capital Readiness Program, Juniper Zero is our new non-profit incubator for early-stage companies using synthetic biology to build climate solutions. The program is built around a 12-week curriculum designed to equip founders with the skills and network needed to take their companies from zero to one in terms of venture backability.
Named after the diverse and climate-resilient Juniper genus, Juniper Zero aims to provide founders from around the country with the resources and ecosystem they need through a three-pronged approach:
Capacity Building: Entrepreneurial support and training across key areas, like IP and licensing, workforce building, science communication, and more.
Access to Capital: Expert tips on tapping into the early-stage venture ecosystem and introductions to a diversified portfolio of capital providers.
Access to Network: Connections to a large network of peers, mentors, talent, investors, coaches, and other strategic partners.
Every week, Juniper Zero will host workshops and Q&As with industry luminaries, including CEOs and Partners from unicorns, fast-growing startups, and funds. Check out Juniper Zero’s website for our latest lineup of speakers and partners.
The incubator is free, virtual, and open to all companies based in the United States. Programming begins at the beginning of the summer and will culminate in an in-person Demo Day where participants will share their work with a curated group of investors and other industry stakeholders. We welcome founders building technology companies that use biology to create a positive impact on climate, including companies building tools and infrastructure that support climate biotech, such as AI/ML, biological methods, software, etc. To join our next cohort, apply through our quick, 10-minute screening application.
If you’re interested in becoming a mentor or guest speaker for the program (or if you would just like to get updates about the program!), please fill out this form.
Juniper Zero is a 501(c)(3) fiscally sponsored organization and contributions to the program are eligible for tax exemption. Each $1 donated to the fund unlocks an additional $3 from the government, amplifying philanthropic impact x4. If interested in supporting the program or mentoring participants, please contact Program Director Mackenzie Scurka at mackenzie@climatecap.co.
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Terms:
Biotechnology (Biotech): technology based on biology
Synthetic Biology (SynBio): the engineering of living things (e.g. microorganisms, plants, animals) or biological parts (e.g. enzymes, metabolic pathways) to create new functions or products
Bio-economy: all of the economic activity that utilizes biological resources
Bio-manufacturing: the production of goods and materials using biological parts and/or systems
Sequencing: the process of mapping DNA
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Note: The Author’s opinions are their own and not necessarily representative of Climate Capital.
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