Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I&E)

Dynamic Labs, co-founded by Itai Turbahn '11 and Yoni Goldberg '09, MEng '10, offers “tech for crypto and non-crypto companies alike to create seamless login experiences backed by digital wallets,” reports Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez for Fortune. “The firm’s wallet-based business is twofold,” explains Quiroz-Gutierrez. “It offers a customizable all-in-one service that can either push the crypto wallet technology to the background for less savvy users or put it front and center for Web3 natives.”

Prof. Fiona Murray, the Associate Dean for Innovation and Inclusion at MIT Sloan, speaks with Boston Globe correspondent Scott Kirsner about her work with NATO on developing and launching new mechanisms to identify and invest in defense startups. Murray notes that the goal of the new NATO Innovation Fund is to “take the traditional VC model and adapt it to this extremely important mission and purpose — supporting defense, security, and the resilience agenda — in today’s very complex geopolitical world.”

Bloomberg reporter Magdalena del Valle spotlights Regent, an all-electric sea glider startup founded by alumni Billy Thalheimer and Michael Klinker. Regent is combining electric propulsion and hydrofoils to, “offer a carbon-free alternative for overwater routes such as New York to Boston, Los Angeles to San Diego, or Miami to the Bahamas,” writes del Valle.

Alexander Bratianu-Badea SM '15 co-founded De-Ice, a startup creating a new and efficient way to thaw aircrafts, reports Kate Duffy for Bloomberg. Bratianu-Badea says, “De-Ice’s strips stick onto the plane with aerospace-grade, acrylic-based adhesive backing. During regulatory tests, the system was exposed to different temperatures, humidifies and chemicals. Even UV light and submersion in a heated oil bath couldn’t damage it.”

Postdoctoral associate Wen Shuhao and postdoctoral fellows Ma Jian and Lai Lipeng co-founded Xtalpi, a biotech startup that uses “artificial intelligence to find chemical compounds that could be developed into new drugs,” reports Zinnia Lee for Forbes. “By combining AI, quantum physics, cloud computing and robotic automation, Xtalpi said it helps increase the efficiency and success rate of identifying novel drug compounds,” writes Lee. “The company has recently expanded into discovering new chemical compounds for agricultural technology, cosmetics and other applications.”

Alumnus Dave Dussault founded Snapchill, a hot coffee company that uses technology to brew, “the best of both hot coffee and cold brew,” reports Grant Welker for NBC Boston. “The technology entails brewing the coffee hot, then dropping the temperature in a matter of seconds from more than 200 degrees to just above freezing,” explains Welker. “It's done using what Dussault said is essentially the same technology used in a refrigerator.”

Regent, a company co-founded by alumni Billy Thalheimer and Michael Klinker, has developed an all-electric sea glider, a low flying plane that operates only over water, reports Alan Ohnsman for Forbes. “We’ve seen airlines and the aviation field pick up a lot,” says Thalheimer. “We're starting to see airlines really think of themselves as transportation operators, thinking about that whole end-to-end customer journey. And seagliders can fit really nicely into that picture.”

Forbes contributor Lucio Ribeiro spotlights Andrew Ng MS '98 and Jaime Teevan SM '01, PhD '07 as two of eight “AI superheroes whose work is transforming technology and challenges our understanding of what’s possible.” Ng is the CEO is Landing AI, and “his efforts in educating the masses about AI through platforms like Coursera, which he co-founded, have democratized AI knowledge, bridging the gap between academia and industry,” writes Ribeiro. Teevan’s “work is focused on making AI more accessible and useful to people in their everyday lives.”

Prof. Yet-Ming Chiang has been named to the TIME 100 Climate list, which highlights the world’s most influential climate leaders in business. “When it comes to cleantech, if it won’t scale, it doesn’t matter,” Chiang says. “This is a team sport—companies large and small, and governments state and federal, need to work together to get these new technologies out there where they can have impact.” 

Grace Colón PhD '95, a board member of the MIT Corporation, writes for The Hill about how to transform cities into biotech innovations hubs. “The best path to biotech success will be different for each city,” writes Colón. “But by building on institutional strengths, investing in workers, and knocking down barriers to success, there’s no reason more of them can’t get there.”

Forbes reporter Nancy Wang spotlights Tara Bishop '97 and Eileen Tanghal '97, co-founders of Black Opal Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on health tech. “Tara and Eileen’s story at Black Opal Ventures is a testament to how diversity and innovation can disrupt traditional landscapes,” writes Wang. “Their pioneering strategies and investments herald a new era for healthcare venture capitalism, where diversity and technology converge to create a more inclusive and impactful future.”

Jasmina Aganovic '09 speaks with MSNBC reporter Daniela Pierre-Bravo about her mission to transform the beauty industry by creating more sustainable products through her startup Arcaea. “The way that I’ve always viewed this industry is that it touches almost every single human being on this planet every single day,” says Aganovic. The beauty industry also, “plays such an important emotional role in our day-to-day lives in terms of self-expression and self-care, the ability to escape when things are a little bit tough, those like little small indulgences.”

George Hadjigeorgiou MSc '98 co-founded Zoe, a personalized nutrition program that “aims to improve gut and metabolic health,” reports Julia Kollewe for The Guardian. “Zoe has identified almost 5,000 never-before-seen gut bacteria,” writes Kollewe. “Of those, 100 were strongly associated with health across all 35,000 participants – 50 good and 50 bad. This feeds into the app and members’ personalized scores will be updated over time”

Augmental, an MIT spinoff, has created MouthPad, a tongue-controlled, computer mouse pad designed for people with disabilities, reports Zoya Hasan and Alex York for Forbes. The device is a “hands-free, custom fit mouthpiece for device control,” explains Hasan and York.

Aleena Nadeem '16 founded EduFi, a fintech startup that provides a straightforward process for students in Pakistan to take out loans to help finance their education, reports Kate Park for TechCrunch. “Education offers hope and can change the lives of people. I am one example of millions out there,” says Nadeem.