Near Frontier

Near Frontier

By Cantos VenturesBusinessEntrepreneurshipTechnologyInvesting
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Near Frontier episodes

  • Synthetic Biology and Biomanufacturing with Joshua Britton from Debut Biotech

    Today we're joined by Dr. Joshua Britton, founder and CEO of Debut Biotech, a cell-free biomanufacturing company. Josh gives us a crash course on synthetic biology and biomanufacturing, walking us through the various methods and promise of this industry that may very well shift industrial production away from fossil fuels. We also get into some of the founding story of Debut, including how Cantos' investment in Debut came to be...hint: it had to do with a cold message. 

    Shownotes:

    • Power: Limits and Prospects foor Human Survial by Richard Heinberg
    • McKinsey report on synthetic biology
    • Debut Biotech on Twitter
      • 57 min
    • RNA Delivery with Anna Perdrix and George Foot of Sixfold Bioscience

      Today we're joined by Anna Perdrix Rossell and George Foot of Sixfold Bioscience, co-founders of Sixfold Bioscience, a UK based biotech company using computation and advanced chemistry to engineer highly programmable constructs that make the delivery of RNA therapeutics predictable and precise. Sixfold's technology expands the purview of RNA therapeutics from vaccines to all diseases, starting with cancer. In our conversation, we discuss the challenge of RNA delivery, what it's like starting a biotech company totally from scratch (no academic spinout or venture incubation), how to hire a diverse team, and promising areas of biotechnology. 

       

      Shownotes:

      • Get in touch with the Sixfold team: Sixfold Bioscience; George Foot; Anna Perdrix
      • Interested in joining the team? Check out open roles here
      • In this episode, we cover: 
        1. Sixfold Bioscience and challenges with RNA delivery 
        2. How George and Anna started Sixfold
        3. Switching between an academia and entrepreneurship mindset
        4. Building a biotech totally from scratch
        5. Twitter debate—founder led bio vs venture incubation 
        6. Building a diverse (majority women!) team and tips for recruitment
        7. Sixfold's big vision
        8. Broader trends to be excited about in biotech and deep tech
          9. 44 min
        9. Orbital Ubers with Vanessa Clark and William Kowalski of Atomos Space

          Today we're joined by Vanessa Clark and William Kowalski, cofounders of Atomos Space, an aerospace company transforming how we operate in space with orbital transfer vehicles. In our conversation, we discuss the importance of orbital transfer vehicles or "space taxis", regulations when operating in space, and the early days of Atomos. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Vanessa and William. 

          Shownotes:

          • Track items in orbit: http://stuffin.space/
          • Get in touch with the Atomos crew: Atomos Space; Vanessa Clark; William Kowalski 
          • In this episode, we cover: 
            1. Orbital transfer vehicles (OTVs)
            2. Kessler Syndrome 
            3. Regulatory landscape in space
            4. Working with the government as a private space company
            5. Nuclear propulsion
            6. How Atomos came to be
            7. Early days of fundraising
            8. How to hire a rockstar team
              9. 50 min

            About Near Frontier

            From the publisher's feed

            Frontier technology is our best shot at solving humanity’s most pressing challenges. But how do these companies get built? Near Frontier takes you behind the scenes where the world’s most innovative companies work towards mitigating disease, climate change, and x-risk. We talk to founders, investors, and operators to bring you unfiltered stories on how deep tech companies come to life and most importantly, give us hope for the future.