🍁 October Update

by David Cohen-Tanugi on October 2, 2024

Dear Advisors,

This is an exciting time at Proto Ventures, with both Hyperion Transport Systems and Vertical Horizons launching as full-time ventures.

In parallel, we have technologies and a new cohort of Proto Ventures Fellows in place for a second year of venture building in clean energy & fusion.

How you can help this month:

• Connect us with exceptional candidates for our new Geothermal Venture Builder role
• Recommend early-stage investors who would be interested in talking with Vertical Horizons (teaser deck link)

Happy reading,

David

By the numbers

Since April 2023:

• ☕ 602 ecosystem interactions
• ​🧪 86 technologies assessed
• 🧑 56 customer discovery activities
• 💡 94 venture ideas
• 🏫 6 team projects created
• 🤝 11 cross-campus conversations initiated

☀️ September highlights

⚡️ PV Fellow Cynthia Liao pitched her startup, Vertical Horizons, in front of a very full Kresge Auditorium during the MIT delta v Demo Day. You can catch her pitch here (fast-forward to 39'00). As a reminder, Vertical Horizons is commercializing next-generation power supplies for data centers.

👥 We selected a new cohort of seven exceptional Proto Ventures Fellows spanning the MIT campus, and we crafted a program to partner with them to form impactful new ventures that leverage the technologies and market opportunities that we've been collecting over the past 14 months. These new Fellows are all passionate about building a clean energy startup after MIT.

🔑 I explored emerging market opportunities in the copper market, and MIT technologies that could help unlock more circularity and more domestic supply for this critical energy material. In collaboration with Prof. Elsa Olivetti, I attended a workshop on critical minerals circularity at NYC Climate Week, where I learned about the growing need for domestic sources of copper feedstock for US-based secondary smelters and refiners.

🤝 I organized visit from the MIT Industrial Liaison Program to the Plasma Science & Fusion Center on 9/19. After touring PSFC and meeting with PSFC Director Nuno Loureiro, a team of four ILP Program Directors spent two hours with PSFC researchers to explore ways to unlock new partnerships with industry. It turns out that ILP didn't have any visibility into who works on what at PSFC, so we've created a database of PSFC researchers and their key specialties and we have shared it with ILP. We hope that this will result in accelerated partnerships, industry conversations, and funding opportunities.

🎓 The Proto Ventures leadership team met with MIT Vice President of Research Ian Waitz to update him on our recent successes and to discuss opportunities to tie PV's deep tech translation activities to the key initiatives of the Institute, starting with the MIT Climate Project.

🌎 Gene attended the kickoff the GEODE program in Houston, TX, which will be funding a new Geothermal Venture Builder here at Proto Ventures.

👀 We’ve continued publishing our research notes on our internal website (password: mit venture studio).

👋🏼 Meet the Fall '24 Fellows

We are thrilled to introduce our newest class of Proto Ventures Fellows, Cohort Fall 2024! With seven incredible fellows, this cohort is our largest to date. Selected from over 40 applicants across the MIT campus, these fellows are tackling some of the most pressing challenges in clean energy. From maritime shipping and fusion energy to hydrogen, grid stability, and industrial heat exchange, the innovations they’re pursuing have the potential to reshape the future.

The Proto Ventures Fellowship is designed to help fellows transition from MIT with the confidence and clarity to build their startups full-time. Throughout the fall semester, our new cohort will focus on key milestones:

• Refining their core mission and vision
• Establishing strong hypotheses for the critical pillars of their ventures
• Gaining a sense of their personal role within the company
• Identifying potential co-founders and advisors
• Developing a risk management plan for IAP and the spring semester
• Building a timetable of funding opportunities and ecosystem resources

Meet the Fellows

We’re excited to introduce you to each member of the Fall 2024 cohort:

Jacob van de Lindt: A nuclear fission engineering expert with experience at ITER and SpaceX, Jacob is currently pursuing a PhD on fusion radiofrequency heating systems at the MIT Plasma Science & Fusion Center. He is developing solutions to decarbonize the maritime shipping industry through innovative fusion and fission technologies.

DeAndrea Newman Salvador: A North Carolina State Senator and Director of Partnerships at Eli, DeAndrea has been a leader in energy policy and community solar programs. Together with her teammate Nidhi Verma in the MIT Sloan Executive MBA program, DeAndrea is exploring solutions to stabilize the power grid.

Nidhi Verma: With 20 years of experience in system design and technology leadership at JPMorgan Chase, where she is currently Executive Director for the Data & Analytics Platform, Nidhi is passionate about solving grid management and storage challenges as we transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Currently in the MIT Sloan Executive MBA program, Nidhi is pursuing innovations in grid stability and renewable energy storage.

Shon Mackie: As a PhD candidate in Physics at MIT, Shon studies the physics of burning plasmas in fusion reactors via neutron measurements. His ambition is to build the leading instrumentation and diagnostics company for the burgeoning fusion industry.

Alaeddine Mokri: With a background in building clean energy products in Silicon Valley, Alaeddine is tackling the challenge of power consumption in AI data centers. A student in MIT’s SDM program, Alaeddine was formerly the founding engineer at Google's smart-grid team, and he is excited to work with Proto Ventures to pursue solutions to make data centers more sustainable.

Mike Nour: As a process engineer and project manager at California Resources Corporation, Mike is leveraging his decade of experience in the power generation and refining sectors to commercialize coatings that prevent fouling in industrial heat exchangers.

Jennifer Turliuk: A former entrepreneur, climate tech investor, and AI specialist, Jennifer is currently a Sloan Fellow at the MIT Sloan School of Business. With a background in climate tech investment, she’s working to develop scalable solutions for power system management.

Key Activities for Fall 2024 Cohort

Our fellows will engage in a series of intensive activities aimed at sharpening their ideas and building momentum:

• Primary Customer Discovery: Engaging directly with potential customers to validate needs.
• Secondary Market Research: Analyzing trends and market dynamics to assess opportunities.
• Technology Assessments: Collaborating with MIT researchers to evaluate the technical feasibility of their ideas.
• IP Explorations: Investigating potential intellectual property strategies.
• Networking: Building relationships with key stakeholders, mentors, and investors.
• Biweekly Deep Dives: In-depth strategy meetings with the Proto Ventures team.
• Monthly Milestones: Progress check-ins and presentations with the Fellows group.

One final thing... can you think of any conferences, events, or podcasts that might be interested in featuring us as a speakers or panelists? We'd love to keep spreading the word about Proto Ventures!

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