Gaurab Chakrabarti
@GaurabC
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CEO @Solugen | MD/PhD building the sustainable chemicals future | Making molecules that power humanity | Takes on manufacturing, energy, and molecules
United States
Joined December 2008
America's next revolution won't be in AI or crypto. It'll be in the world's most overlooked $6 Trillion industry. Chemicals. Here's the "96% efficient" breakthrough that will bring manufacturing back to the United States:🧵
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'21 was a great year for biotech advances. Of course, mRNA was the year's star thanks to COVID. However, there were 5 other biotech advances that were ridiculously exciting, too. A thread:.
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I asked chatGPT to create 8-bit/pixelated versions of climate tech startups in DALL·E 3. I'm digging this future. 1. @CFS_energy fusion reactor
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1.) Ultrasound as an on/off switch for cell therapies . Off-target toxicity of CAR T therapy is an issue due to premature activation. This @UCSanDiego team solved this by engineering a gene circuit in CAR T cells activated by ultrasound at the tumor site.
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3.) Artificial nose. Using the olfactory receptor from mosquitos, this group made a sensor to detect octanol to part per billion levels in human breath. This could be a cool breath-based diagnostic or a way to record and present scents in the metaverse.
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5.) Deeply implanted sensors that don't need battery power. Using ultrasound, this group was able to create implantable sensors that could measure oxygen levels CENTIMETERS deep within a tissue.
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4.) Atomic resolution for electron microscopy imaging . Solving two major issues in electron microscopy, this group relied on ptychography, a technique that uses coherent scattering and multiple overlapping illumination to increase EM resolution.
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Physical reality always outruns code in the end. Once AGI commodifies labor, physical capital will soar. How to prepare now? Invest in manufacturing conglomerates—land, equipment, and raw materials could 10-20x by the time we see superintelligence emerge; rare earths may be.
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From our $7000 PVC reactor in 2017 to our pilot plant optimizations in 2018 and 2019, to introducing our 10,000 tpy Bioforge that sequesters and offsets over 30,000 tpy of CO2 equivalents. we are just getting started!.
This is what scaling up synthetic biology looks like. Let’s end the climate crisis. Let’s improve safety by ending plant explosions. Let’s make products that are carbon negative. Let's build our sustainable future with synthetic biology. @solugen's Bioforge is this future.
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Wild to the think that the last ice age (20k yrs ago) was “only” an avg of ~4C colder than it is today. Makes you realize that an avg increase of 4C will be quite dramatic.
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What makes a geological formation ideal for CO2 storage? . The 4 most important criteria:. 1. Formation porosity and permeability.2. A depth >800 meters.3. An impermeable caprock.4. Thick and continuous over a large area. Why?👇.
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Of course, this list isn't exhaustive and there were many, many cool advances that I'm sure will shape much of the research landscape in 2022!.
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This is a really big deal for @solugen. I suspect we’re now just starting our Golden years of productivity.
🚨Expansion Alert! . We're excited to announce our second Bioforge, part of a strategic partnership with ADM. This new facility will allow us to meet growing demand for our sustainable products & drive innovation in new markets. Full announcement here:
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Everyone wants to be in climate tech, but no one wants to calculate the mass balance.
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Loving the @lowercarbon holiday gift!. mother-in-law: What does Unf Double Star K mean?.me: It's a cult thing.MIL: Oh that's sweet. love working with this team. thanks, @sacca & @claydumas!
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expecto patronum, but for carbon dioxide instead of Dementors.
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Super excited for this! @solugen’s unannounced defense work will hit multiple categories.
Excited to share the Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) FY25 Investment Strategy that was just released publicly!. This Strategy details how the OSC will prioritize investments for its credit-based financial products for critical technologies and their supply chains.
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This piece on @solugen is doubly exciting for me because it was @ashleevance’s biography on @elonmusk that gave me the courage to marry deep tech and business to start Solugen. Also, the intro is hilarious…but don’t huff gasoline kids.
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@typesfast Yea but water doesn’t inhibit adenosine receptors, which leads to less water reabsorption (. p.s. thank you for giving me an opportunity to use my medical degree. Now back to slinging chemicals.
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Can we just stop investing in garbage and just focus all of our money and efforts on fixing this shit? We need a WWII like effort with the smartest people focused on global warming and nothing else #ClimateCrisis
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Many nights spent sleeping next to that pvc reactor:).
The early days of startups typically aren't that pretty. In 2016 @solugen did NOT win an MIT pitch competition but they won $10K. They took that money and built a prototype reactor with wood and PVC pipes bought from Home Depot. Literally held together with zip ties. That
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Texas friends: don’t forget to disconnect and drain your hoses!
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Thank you @sethbannon ! I’m quite convinced that financial success always follows impact.
🔥 Co-founder / CEO @GaurabC at the Solugen board meeting today:. "It's important to remember why we're here. Our mission at Solugen is to reverse climate change. That's it.".
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The quality of my Twitter feed seems to be declining. Anyone else noticing this?.
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Man, I wish people would get this riled up about climate tech leadership.
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First thing I texted @ashleevance upon hearing this: “what have you done.” If someone is going build this…there’s literally no one better on Earth to run this business. Immediate subscribe.
MUCH more to say tomorrow. But for the time being - some news
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Climate change is not the problem. It is a consequence of the problem.
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Calling this language is a stretch. but it is amusing to think that fungi are just chatting it up on the forest floor, telling eachother hilarious jokes. Such fun guys.
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Industrial retrofits are just getting started! When we started @solugen, our first Bioforge facility was built on an old polyethylene wax distillery that exploded and blew out all of the windows in a 5-mile radius.
New Jersey is shifting towards maximizing cheap, renewable energy. Watch the implosion of the Logan Generating Station.
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Ideas and technologies take off based on how will they are distributed and communicated (60-70%) and not just on how good the idea or tech is (30-40%).
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@sethbannon Love this. I rmr saying this in one of our medschool periodicals and my dean called me into her office to talk about “balance”
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One of the best @solugen deep-dives I've seen.
1/@solugen: The first carbon negative molecule factory. Just two months ago, @solugen raised +$350M to scale their solution to building carbon negative chemicals. Their breakthrough may be one of the most pivotal unlocks to fighting climate change. Let me explain what they do:
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Imagine plants ultrasonically telling you about AQI or some other environmental molecule
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Sometimes I worry deep tech companies over index on being a “platform tech” as an excuse to be unfocused. Difficult to build a predictable revenue business if nothing gets to the finish line.
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2025 Predictions (various topics of interest):. Commodities outperform S&P500. Insurance companies start testing for microplastic levels for risk profile stratification. WTI oil rises above $80/bbl. AI makes a noteworthy scientific discovery on its own. Likely in the area of.
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@sacca spot on as usual. So lucky to have him and @claydumas as investors in @solugen. Now, if you’ll excuse me, going back to work to unfuck our planet.
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This is uncomfortably wild. Maybe plastic eating enzymes will actually be the next blockbuster drug.
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@pmarca Screenwriter ChatGPT follows up with an epic follow on:. Silicon Valley Season 8 Main Character Arcs. Richard Hendricks.Now living in his old Honda Civic and coding under the handle NullPointerRich, Richard accidentally creates a decentralized hacking collective when his.
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@MaxCRoser @paulg While this is correct, if folks *think* they are doing something to be sustainable, they are more likely to conduct activities that might actually be far more sustainable.
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@AdrianDittmann When your life reaches ‘this has to be fake’ territory, it’s time to carry a notary. Because when receipts aren’t enough, you’ll need a witness, too.
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The single greatest biological waste product in the history of the earth? Oxygen. Re: photosynthesis.
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🧵 The massive HDPE plastics market—worth ~$80 billion today—was driven by one unexpected craze: the Hula Hoop. Yes, really. Here’s the story of how a toy changed everything. 👇.
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The fact that world's adult diaper sales might soon outpace baby diaper sales should be a concern for population collapse.
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As usual, @sacca taking things to the next level! Thanks for all you do to unfuck the planet at @Lowercarbon and for the @solugen shoutout.
This is one of the most proud I have ever been releasing an episode. This with @sacca covers everything from parenting to relationships with money to investing in Uber & Twitter and more. To Chris, for making this 7 year wait so fricking worth it. 🚀 .
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The harsh truth about the chemicals industry is that sustainability isn’t as critical to customers…yet. The hierarchy of what gets chemical customers over the finish line:. 1. Price point .2. Product performance .3. Consistent delivery and availability .4. Sustainability.
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Step 1 is to stop calling it cleantech, climate tech, sustainability tech etc. It cheapens any perceived value proposition that a customer cares about today.
What The Cleantech Industry Can Learn From The Star Wars Holiday Special.
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In 2016, I discovered something fascinating:. As a physician-scientist studying cancer biology, I found an enzymatic reaction in cancer cells that makes chemicals like hydrogen peroxide super efficiently. At a poker game, I met an MIT chemical engineer working on industrial
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Maybe don’t take capital from these people…
1/8 I’m very sad today to see that @Bench has shut down. I’ve avoided speaking publicly about Bench since just over 3 years ago when I was fired from the company I co-founded. I still don’t have a lot of appetite to talk about it tbh, but think at least a short statement is.
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The first lesson of understanding China is to ignore what they say to the West and pay attention to what they say to others.
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Feels like all the crypto bois are now ChatGPT/AI experts ("How ChatGPT will change [X] forever"). I hope this doesn't ruin the value of a legit technology.
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This is the single greatest Chief Scientist in climate. @CarbonWrangler is a boss!!.
It's official: Dr. Julio Friedmann (a.k.a. the @CarbonWrangler) has joined Carbon Direct as full-time Chief Scientist to catalyze the #carboneconomy
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I think this is why if you’re thinking big, you HAVE to think about infrastructure, real estate, and localized economies. It is the key to the problem.
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@HarryStebbings You should check out how @solugen does this with its BioForges in the chemicals industry --> Sell bioreactors and then sell our catalysts on a recurring basis: .
This is what scaling up synthetic biology looks like. Let’s end the climate crisis. Let’s improve safety by ending plant explosions. Let’s make products that are carbon negative. Let's build our sustainable future with synthetic biology. @solugen's Bioforge is this future.
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@TrungTPhan You should checkout how @solugen used cancer cells as an insight to make the world's most efficient chemical plants!.
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Our process fuses biology with industrial chemistry to challenge the status quo. We achieve up to 96% yield by combining advanced reaction technologies and catalyst engineering. With less than 1/10th the operational footprint, we cut emissions, costs, and inefficiencies. The
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Love our west texas facility. Isos on isos moving volume!!
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The finest deeptech founders and scientists discuss their failed experiments with as much enthusiasm as their breakthroughs. Mistakes will be made, but that's good because it means decisions are being made.
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@balajis Shedding an “empire” isn’t just about shutting bases or giving up the reserve currency—it’s a full identity shift. You lose the perks of global power along with the headaches. Look at Russia after the USSR—it was a whole different game. Whether the U.S. stays top dog or scales.
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Our Bioforge platform uses compact, efficient facilities to:. • Deliver faster.• Slash emissions.• Cut logistics costs.• Offer better pricing. The result? Our customer NPS is 82. But the implications go far beyond just happy customers.
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But if it takes you 20+ years to turn off the tap bc of lobbying, you might need to soak up some of that overflowing water. .
Carbon capture sounds nice and all, but if your bath is overflowing you don’t invest in magical technologies to soak up the water from your floor. You turn off the tap.
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Tardigrades can take a 30 year break from being alive and just get right back to it like nothing ever happened.
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As we reach the end of the entitlement state, real climate tech will boom, technoeconomics will be in vogue, and the workplace will be for doers who solve important problems. Let’s all get to work.
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@andrewchen While measles virus certainly has much higher R0, the symptoms are much more apparent and more quickly recognizable vs those with COVID. Thus, the ability to detect measles quickly helps contain its spread despite the virus having an R0>10. COVID spread is much more insidious.
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@balajis The internet doesn’t merely dissolve physical borders—it reconstructs them in subtler, more insidious ways. Whether we’re talking about China’s Firewall or crypto’s blockchain, both carve out exclusive zones for their chosen in-group. Each builds boundaries that can be harder to.
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