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It is estimated that the global economy will need over 300 million new jobs in order to accommodate current unemployment, supplement projected job loss resulting from automated industries, and provide opportunities for the next generation. In 2015, 10.2% of the world’s workers were living with their families on less than $1.90 per person, per day. 946 million people remain with zero access to sanitation facilities and 757 million adults cannot read or write. And now with the global pandemic having a devastating effect on all facets of life, the situation is even more critical. Unreasonable Impact, a multi-year initiative created with Barclays, was launched in 2016 with the principle aim of scaling growth equity companies addressing these very challenges, whilst also creating jobs. The partnership is designed around ensuring that the fastest growing and most impactful companies across different geographies (Europe, the Americas, and Asia Pacific) are best positioned for scale. The launch of Unreasonable Impact Americas sees the program support the 12 entrepreneurs that have been identified as critical drivers of change, with the incredibly innovative solutions necessary to meet these challenges at scale, from across the region. Over the course of the next few months, the now fully virtual program will support these entrepreneurs through a series of virtual gatherings and sessions which have been prototyped and perfected to align them with mentors, specialists, advice, resources and capital, as well as with each other. Since the program’s global launch, the Unreasonable Impact community, made up of over 200 ventures, has positively impacted more than 250 million people, reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 48 million tons, and generated more than 39,000 net new jobs in more than 180 countries. The companies have also raised more than USD $5 billion in funding. These 12 companies join this unparalleled global network in its shared effort to drive lasting and scalable change.
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C16 Biosciences Conamix Cultivo Huue
KETOS
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Malta
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Navajo Power Vestaron
Via Separations Voltz
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Voyager Space Holdings
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C16 Biosciences Using innovative processes found in nature to brew sustainable alternatives to palm oil.
SEC TO R
Biotechnology
R EGIO N
US
EN T R E P R E NEU R
Shara Ticku
TIT LE
Co-Founder & CEO
c16bio.com
C16 Biosciences uses innovative processes found in nature to brew environmentally responsible alternatives to palm oil. C16 was founded with the objective of creating a sustainable, eco-friendly alternative to palm oil. By offering producers, refiners, traders and consumers of palm oil an opportunity to invest part of their production into bio-based oils and sustainability efforts, our aim is to reduce the environmental footprint of palm oil production and protect precious natural land, wildlife, and resources in the process. We’ve developed technology to brew an environmentally responsible alternative to palm oil from microbes. Our palm oil is sustainable, without the need for deforestation, endangering precious animal species, or forcing inhumane labor practices. The result is a world where consumers can enjoy the products they love without worrying about the dangerous practices involved in making them.
Shara Ticku is the CEO and co-founder of C16 Biosciences. C16 Bio uses biotechnology to produce sustainable alternatives to palm oil. Palm oil is the world’s most popular vegetable oil, but its production depends on tropical rainforest deforestation that emits 1.5 gigatons of CO2 annually. C16 Bio’s technology uses microbes to produce an oil that looks and functions just like palm oil, but doesn’t destroy the planet. Prior to founding C16 Bio, Shara worked at Goldman Sachs, the Clinton Health Co-Founder & CEO Access Initiative, and the United Nations. She holds a BA/BBA from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Shara Ticku
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Conamix Developing cobalt-free, high-energy sulfur cathodes for the battery industry at commercial performance levels.
SEC TO R
Energy Storage
R EGIO N
US
EN T R E P R E NEU R
Charlotte Hamilton
TIT LE
Co-Founder & CEO
conamix.com
Conamix is a team of work-hardened battery experts turning sulfur cathodes from the out of reach holygrail of lithium ion cathodes into a global product with the energy, power and cycle life demanded by the EV revolution. Conamix is on track to make lithium sulfur work on a global scale by using a ‘stack’ of multifunctional materials that will address the barriers that blocked past efforts. Conamix is commercializing new low-cost high-energy materials for the global lithium battery market. The company’s materials are designed to drop-in to existing manufacturing infrastructure to both improve the energy density and lower the cost of lithium-ion systems. Founded in 2014, the company is led by an experienced team of chemical and battery industry leaders and has intellectual property agreements with multiple leading global research institutions.
As Founder & CEO of Conamix, Charlotte holds 15+ years of experience commercializing new materials for global products, and is the coinventor of multiple pieces of intellectual property on the composition of matter for novel sulfur cathode material. Previously, Charlotte served as the President of Novomer, a company that generated over $250M in total exit value over its lifetime. While there, Charlotte led the company from concept through the launch of its first specialty chemical product, and closed multiple grants and joint development agreements. Charlotte’s career has been about finding innovations in chemistry or biology that make the world a better place, and using the powers of business Co-Founder & CEO and start-ups to get them out into the world sooner. She received her BS in Natural Resources and MBA at Cornell University.
Charlotte Hamilton
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Cultivo Unlocking investment in natural capital at scale.
SEC TO R
Financial Technology
R EGIO N
Mexico, UK, US
EN T R E P R E NEU R
Manuel Piñuela
TIT LE
Co-Founder & CEO
cultivo.land
Cultivo is on a mission to bridge investment supply and demand of natural capital. Using satellite technology and proprietary algorithms, Cultivo can accurately calculate, measure, and assess the value of a 500K hectare project within a matter of hours. Cultivo prioritizes working with NGOs and local landowners to package and present these opportunities to financial partners, funneling millions of dollars of investment into projects that restore and protect nature, while also serving and protecting the local communities. Their projects include forests, wetlands, grasslands, and regenerative agriculture. These projects carry benefits far beyond capturing carbon, including protecting biodiversity, providing fresh water, and supporting local communities, each with its own creditable value.
Dr. Manuel Piñuela is a nature advocate, technology and science entrepreneur, and MIT Technology Review Innovator of the Year under 35. He is Co-Founder of Cultivo, Drayson Tech. and SENS.L. and has extensive experience in private equity, venture investment, IPOs, M&A and technology commercialisation. Manuel believes that the climate crisis is one of the most pressing issues of our time and creating Cultivo allows him to contribute to one of the many solutions that are needed. He wants to ensure future generations benefit from nature and works tirelessly to contribute to meet the Paris Agreement goals.
Manuel Piñuela Co-Founder & CEO
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Huue Using biotechnology to create the world’s most sustainable dyes.
SEC TO R
Biotechnology
R EGIO N
US
EN T R E P R E NEU R
Michelle Zhu
TIT LE
Co-Founder & CEO
huue.bio
Huue is creating the next generation of sustainable dyes for the industries that are integral to a sustainable future. Current dyeing practices are costly, inefficient and release toxic chemicals into freshwater sources. Huue tackles these harmful practices by providing a cost-effective, resource-efficient, and sustainable dyeing alternative. Rather than utilizing agricultural methods to create plant-based dyes which require more land and resources, Huue uses biotechnology to create higher performing product. Mimicking nature’s processes, Huue examines how color compounds occur in nature and programs microbes to grow and secrete those colors. Huue’s first mission: indigo blue for denim makers. Leveraging cofounder Dr. Tammy Hsu’s UC Berkeley bioengineering research, they are supported by leading investors and institutions such as IndieBio, Fashion for Good, Jennifer Doudna, and Melinda Gates’ Pivotal Ventures.
Michelle Zhu is CEO & Co-founder of Huue, a biotechnology company creating the world’s most sustainable dyes for the industries that are shaping the future of the Earth, starting with the indigo in your jeans. Its mission is to minimize the amount of toxic chemicals used in the dye production and application process. With a family background in fashion and a career in business operations and strategy, Michelle currently manages Co-Founder & CEO all aspects of Huue’s operations, fundraising, and sales efforts. Michelle received her BSBA from Washington University in St. Louis.
Michelle Zhu
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KETOS Delivering a cloud-based, unmanned monitoring solution that provides realtime water intelligence and insights.
SEC TO R
Internet of Things
R EGIO N
Brazil, India, Israel, Mexico, US
EN T R E P R E NEU R
Meena Sankaran
TIT LE
Founder & CEO
ketos.co
Founded in 2015, KETOS has worked tirelessly to transform the water industry with the goal of making water safer and more sustainable for today and for future generations. KETOS has automated missioncritical testing and monitoring processes. KETOS has addressed these issues by developing an innovative solution that delivers a vertically integrated water quality and monitoring platform with intelligent hardware, bi-directional connectivity infrastructure, interactive software, and hassle-free services. Real-time testing and monitoring addresses both water efficiency and water quality, ultimately increasing overall water availability. With the power of actionable and predictive water intelligence on a global scale, KETOS seeks to solve a number of the world’s water challenges with the goal of preserving this quintessential resource. The name “KETOS” symbolizes our endeavor to preserve the ocean’s largest mammals, and signifies our commitment to our oceans, our water, and the planet as a whole.
Meena Sankaran is an accomplished technology executive, business leader, and evangelist. Prior to founding KETOS, Meena drove global strategy and innovation for customer success through a variety of leadership roles over the last 16+ years. As a technologist and a purpose-driven entrepreneur, she believes in leveraging technology and building business models for challenges that bring about global change and deliver solutions to impact at a grassroots level. She has a BE in Electronics Engineering from India and an MS in Electrical ENGg from UTA, Texas. Her leadership in KETOS’s engineering innovation, product & business strategy, team discipline, and strong culture are instrumental in the path to success. She has been a winner of several awards, including Founder & CEO being named Forbes’ Awe-inspiring Women, 100 Global Innovators by Goldman Sachs, and represented SDG#6 at the United Nations.
Meena Sankaran
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Malta Enabling the clean energy transition through long duration thermal energy storage.
SEC TO R
Energy Storage
R EGIO N
Canada, US
EN T R E P R E NEU R
Ramya Swaminathan
TIT LE
CEO
maltainc.com
Malta is on the leading edge of long-term battery storage. They are building a new type of electro-thermal energy storage system that can collect and store energy from any source (i.e. wind, sun, or fossil fuels), in any location and for long durations, and dispatch it as electricity on demand. The concept was invented by Stanford professor, Robert Laughlin, based on wellestablished principles in thermodynamics for a system that stores energy as heat (in molten salt) and as cold (in a chilled liquid). The project was later refined and incubated at Google X before spinning out in 2018.
Ramya Swaminathan is the CEO of Malta. She led the spin-out of Malta from X, Google’s Moonshot Factory, and leads the company’s vision to enable a sustainable, just transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. She currently serves as a member of the U.S. Secretary of Commerce’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee and is a Clean Energy Education and Empowerment (C3E) Initiative Ambassador and a Select Global Women in Tech mentor. She was named one of 21 Rising Stars in Clean Energy by Business Insider. Before founding Malta, she was the CEO of Rye Development, a hydropower development firm that she grew to be the leading developer of new hydropower projects in the US. She expanded Rye’s platform into pumped hydro storage in a JV with National CEO Grid. She holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government and a BA in Anthropology from Amherst College.
Ramya Swaminathan
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Navajo Power Building an equitable energy future for tribal communities.
SEC TO R
Navajo Power is a Public Benefit Corporation that develops utility-scale clean energy projects on tribal lands and maximizes the economic benefits for local communities. Their mission is to cultivate an economic upgrade from coal to renewables for tribal nations by developing gigawatts (GWs) of solar and storage projects, as the imminent closure of local coal plants accelerates. In the future, they plan to expand their model with Navajo and deploy a replication strategy with tribes in the Southwest and beyond.
Renewable Energy
R EGIO N
US
EN T R E P R E NEU R
Brett Isaac
TIT LE
Co-Founder & Co-CEO
navajopower.com
Brett was born and raised on the Navajo Nation. A member of the Navajo People (Diné), Brett grew up in a culturally rich part of the world with scenic landscapes and vibrant history. This shaped Brett’s view on creating opportunity while emphasizing messages of reverence for culture, conservation, and preservation of our ecosystem. This led Brett to a career in renewable energy, economic development, and entrepreneurship. This route eventually led to the creation and purpose of Navajo Power.
Brett Isaac Co-Founder & Co-CEO
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Vestaron Designing the next generation of biopesticides using safe, environmentallyfriendly peptides.
SEC TO R
Agricultural Technology
R EGIO N
US
EN T R E P R E NEU R
Anna Rath
TIT LE
President & CEO
vestaron.com
Recent winner of the Green Chemistry award, Vestaron is leading a peptide-based revolution in crop protection. They are committed to providing growers with novel, effective chemistries that safely kills pests, while having no adverse effects on the natural ecosystem. Additionally, their peptides overcome existing resistance issues of pesticides, while offering the desired safety profile for workers, beneficials, and the environment.
With more than 15 years of experience across multiple venture-backed ag-tech companies, Anna joined Vestaron as President & CEO in April 2018 to help lead the transformation of Vestaron from the R&D phase of its development through its commercial phase. Before Vestaron, Anna was founder and CEO of NexSteppe, a company focused on the development and commercialization of optimized crops for the bio-based economy. Anna started her professional career at McKinsey & Co, focused on corporate strategy, assessment of new business initiatives, and business building in various technology sectors, then led commercial and business development at Ceres, an agricultural biotechnology company. Anna holds a JD from Yale Law School and a Master’s Degree in Genetics President & CEO from the University of Michigan. In 2016, she was awarded BIO’s Rosalind Franklin award for female leadership in industrial biotechnology.
Anna Rath
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Via Separations Eliminating 90 percent of energy used during thermal separations with durable graphene oxide membranes.
SEC TO R
Manufacturing Technology
At Via Separations, we take a materials approach to the world’s wasted energy. We are optimistic about scientific progress, passionate about global impact, and creative in everything we do. We are not afraid of hard problems, and we encourage each other to live at the intersections of disciplines, act on great ideas, and design everything. Via eliminates energy use in industrial processes, enabling pathways for a more sustainable, resource efficient future. With its core filtration technology, Via can slash the energy used in separation processes by 90%. We are a fast-paced, interdisciplinary team backed by The Engine, Safar Partners, Prime Impact Fund, and MassCEC.
R EGIO N
US
EN T R E P R E NEU R
Shreya Dave
TIT LE
Co-Founder & CEO
viaseparations.com
Shreya Dave graduated from MIT with a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and is the Co-Founder & CEO of Via Separations. Her PhD research focused on the design and manufacture of graphene oxide membranes for water desalination, including fundamental characterization methods of graphene oxide, membrane synthesis, and economic analysis of the role of membranes in cost constraints of desalination plants. Via Separations is scaling up and commercializing the material platform for use in industrial separation processes such as food ingredient production and chemical manufacturing. Shreya holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees Co-Founder & CEO from MIT in Mechanical Engineering and Technology & Policy. In 2018, Shreya was named one of Technology Review’s 35 Innovators under 35.
Shreya Dave
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Voltz Unlocking cities with smart, conscious, sustainable mobility.
SEC TO R
Transportation
R EGIO N
Brazil
EN T R E P R E NEU R
Renato Villar
TIT LE
Founder
voltzmotors.com
Voltz Motors is the first brand in Brazil to sell smart and sustainable motorbikes, with a mission to move Latin America to a more sustainable mobility ecosystem. Voltz sells smart motorbikes incorporating IoT and their e-commerce concept for motorcycles is a paradigm shift in the motorcycle segment, placing Voltz at the forefront of the electric motorcycle market in Brazil. Because their smart motorcycles are connected 24 hours a day to the company’s servers, they are capable of monitoring everything in real-time. This data gives Voltz the leverage to provide their own hyper-competitive rates of insurance and financing, as well as protect against theft and provide feedback to riders on their driving safety. Voltz is now entering another paradigm shift: selling electric motorbikes without the batteries and then offering Batteries-as-aService via partnered swapping stations.
Renato Villar began his career as a trainee at AB InBev before leaving the company to become an entrepreneur. In 2013, Renato founded Central da Peça, a B2B marketplace platform whose objective was to democratize access in the Brazilian motorcycle parts market. Today, all of the main suppliers in Brazil can be found on Central da Peça and the marketplace has grown to more than 40,000 SKU. In 2017, Renato founded Voltz with the intention of developing an electric motorbike that could compete with the likes of Founder Yamaha and Honda. The Voltz team launched its first vehicle, the EV01, in November 2019 and has sold over 6,000 units.
Renato Villar
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Voyager Space Holdings Reimagining space exploration to enable humanity’s most ambitious projects.
SEC TO R
Space Technology
R EGIO N
Italy, Singapore, UAE, US
Voyager Space Holdings is a global leader in space exploration. They seek to increase vertical integration and mission capability to enable humanity’s most ambitious projects. Voyager works to democratize the Future of Space by acquiring majority ownership within new and innovative space companies and assembling their capabilities within one ecosystem. In doing so, they have created a space ecosystem for scale, enabling businesses to maintain agility and speed but thrive as a part of their larger community and platform. With acquisitions such as Altius, Pioneer Astronautics, and Nanoracks and clients like SpaceX and NASA, Voyager is disrupting the conventional wisdom around what is possible with the goal of unlocking blockages to innovation and progress. Voyager believes that space is a tool for powerful transformation and a more sustainable way of life on Earth, not an escape route.
EN T R E P R E NEU R
Dylan Taylor
TIT LE
Chairman & CEO
voyagerspace.com
Dylan Taylor is a global business leader and philanthropist. He is an active pioneer in the space exploration industry as a CEO, investor, thought leader and futurist. Currently, Dylan serves as Chairman & CEO of Voyager Space Holdings, a multi-national space exploration firm. Dylan has been cited by Harvard University, SpaceNews, the BBC, Pitchbook, CNBC and others as having played a seminal role in the growth of the private space industry. As an early-stage investor in more than 50 emerging ventures, including York, Astrobotic, Relativity, and Planet, Dylan is widely considered the most active private space investor in the world. Dylan earned an MBA in Finance and Strategy from the Booth School of Business at University of Chicago and holds a BS in Engineering from the honors college at the University of Arizona. The World Economic Chairman & CEO Forum recognized Dylan as a Young Global Leader in 2011 and he was named a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute in 2014.
Dylan Taylor
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O N B E H A L F O F U S , T H A N K YO U .
unre asonableimpac t.com
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