Unlocking the Potential of Scientists with Activate, Ep #83

Invested In Climate

At the center of climate progress are scientists. They’re developing new technologies with which we can build a new, more sustainable global economy. Moving inventions from a lab to startup companies to scaled products, however, takes more than science.

Research scientists had long lacked a support structure to help them build successful businesses. That’s where Activate came in. Founded in 2015 at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Activate is a fellowship program that has helped almost 200 science fellows create companies that have now collectively created about 2,000 jobs and have raised about $1.5 billion.

To learn more about Activate’s important work, we’re joined today by Activate CEO Cyrus Wadia. Cyrus brings a unique background spanning time in the Obama Administration, academia, Nike, and Amazon. We talk about how Activate works, lessons they’re gathering across climate tech verticals, examples of companies emerging from their fellowship, opportunities, gaps, and much more. I’m a big fan of the work Activate is doing and I’d guess you’ll soon be too. Enjoy.

In today’s episode, we cover:

• [3:13] Cyrus’ background & career journey
• [6:01] Activate & the problem that its aiming to solve
• [9:47] The ideal Activate Fellow
• [12:38] The support that Fellows get & how the Fellowship works
• [14:25] Activate’s achievements
• [16:41] Success stories & companies that have emerged from the Fellowship
• [20:02] What's coming & gaps
• [22:20] Examples of where friction is lower for climate tech to scale
• [26:35] Applications of AI
• [31:54] The involvement of corporate partners & how they can show up
• [34:36] How else do we need to change our approach to addressing climate change

Resources Mentioned

• Activate
• Sublime Systems
• CalWave
• Fervo
• Project Red
• Noon Energy
• Sonera
• Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
• Cyclotron Road

Connect with Cyrus Wadia

• Connect with Cyrus on LinkedIn

Connect with Jason Rissman

• On LinkedIn
• On Twitter

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