Near Frontier is back! In this episode, Cantos GP Ian Rountree sits down with Soren Monroe-Anderson, co-founder and CEO of Neros Technologies, to explore the cutting edge of FPV (first-person view) drone technology. They dive into Neros’ bold mission to rebuild a resilient domestic supply chain for unmanned defense systems—and why it matters now more than ever.

From defense innovation to industrial strategy, this conversation offers a firsthand look at what it takes to push the frontier in national security tech.

Note: this episode was recorded in February.

You can follow Soren and the Neros journey on X

Today we're joined by Mike Horowitz and Scott Patterson, co-founders of Modulo. 

Modulo is designing therapeutics to reprogram your neuroimmune system by focusing on microglia cells—the swiss army knife of the brain.

In this episode we get into the potential of microglia and why it has taken so long to uncover it, the impetus behind starting Modulo, and how we can combat neurodegenerative diseases from frontotemporal dementia to Alzheimer's and beyond. You can learn more about Modulo here

Show notes: 

book mentioned: Angel and the Assasin

Wired article

Community advocate for C9orf72

Lee Holloway story

We're doing something a little different on Near Frontier this week! Natalie Estrella, Cantos' talent partner takes to the show to chat with Yusuf Uddin, head of talent at KdT Ventures. They cover what it's like building highly technical early-stage teams at various startups, what goes on behind the scenes in recruiting, and best practices for finding the right talent at the right time. If you're looking to hire early-stage talent or join an early stage startup, this episode is for you. Feel free to reach out to Natalie ([email protected]) and Yusuf ([email protected]) as well. 

KdT Ventures: https://kdtvc.com 

Cantos Ventures: https://cantos.vc

Today we're joined by Gurinder Nagra, founder and CEO of Furno Materials.

Furno is on a mission to decarbonize cement production, a shockingly dirty industry responsible for 8% of global CO2 emissions. 

In this episode we break down the process of making cement, why it is so dirty, and why Furno is more of a new industrials company than "climate tech" company. 

Learn more about Furno here or get in touch with Gurinder at [email protected]

Note: at 23:19, "10-20 days of productions" should be corrected to "10-20 tons/days of production"

We're lucky to have Sean Hunt, cofounder of Solugen, with us on Near Frontier today. We talk to Sean about the evolution of clean tech into synthetic biology, what makes Solugen special, how to build a revenue generating hard tech business, and more. Deep tech founders and investors, this is one where you'll want to pull out your notepads.  

Solugen website

Solugen twitter

Sean's twitter

Today we're joined by Anand Parikh, founder and CEO of Faeth Therapeutics.

Faeth combines precision nutrition, therapeutics, and digital health to deliver a cancer-fighting program designed to deprive tumors of the nutrients they need to grow while providing optimal nutritional support to healthy tissues. 

In this episode, we get into what led Anand to start Faeth, dig into the operational complexity behind the business's software, therapeutics, and nutrition aspects, discuss fundraising for an unconventional business model, and more. 

Get in touch—

Anand's socials

Enroll in Faeth's clinical trials here

Check out Faeth's open roles here

Today we're joined by Sassie Duggleby, co-founder and CEO of Venus Aerospace. Venus is a Houston-based aerospace company building hypersonic space planes that fly at Mach 9 taking you anywhere in the world within an hour. We talk about hypersonics, challenges in building airframes that can support hypersonic speeds, and how Sassie has built an inclusive and balanced culture at Venus. If you're curious about the future of transportation, then this episode is for you. 

Twitter: Venus Aerospace, Sassie Duggleby

Website: Venus Aerospace

Today we're joined by Tessa Lau, founder and CEO of Dusty Robotics, a Bay Area construction robotics company. We talk to Tessa about the vision for Dusty, how she got started, dealing with supply chain, selling into construction, and her advice for new deep tech founders. If you're interested in robotics, construction, or building hardware startups, then this episode is for you. 

Dusty Robotics twitter

Dusty Robotics website

Tessa Lau twitter

Dusty Robotics tik tok videos 

We talk to Prellis Biologics founder Melanie Matheu about bioprinting organs with Prellis' holographic laser technology, using bioprinted lymph node organoids for antibody discovery, and Melanie's advice for new bio founders with regards to choosing focus and setting early partnerships. 

Note: We discuss the January 2022 pig-to-human heart transplant at 13:45. This episode was recorded before we learned that the recipient of the transplant has since passed away. 

Get in touch with Prellis—

Prellis Twitter

Melanie's Twitter

Prellis website