Today, Activate announced that applications are open for their 2024 cohort, starting September 19 and closing October 17, 2023. The window to apply begins during Climate Week NYC, at the tail end of the hottest summer ever on record, where Activate Fellows and partners will be presenting hard-tech solutions to our most pressing decarbonization challenges and beyond.
Read MoreActivate’s new CEO brings impressive science, business, and government experience to deliver impact at scale.
Read MoreAfter living through the hottest summer on record, leaders from across sectors and the world will gather at Climate Week NYC from September 17–24 to accelerate climate action. Activate is hosting or sponsoring a series of thought-leadership-driven gatherings during the week, including a showcase of Activate Fellow technologies followed by a fireside chat between Evelyn Wang, Director of ARPA-E, and climate journalist and former Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood.
Read MoreJosué López (Cohort 2020) is modeling a new kind of success story as the first Activate Fellow alum to become a venture capitalist. An MIT-trained electrical engineer and nanoscientist, López founded Kyber Photonics, a chip-scale semiconductor company building sensors for autonomy, which he led for two-and-a-half years. Now he’s enriching the innovation ecosystem in a new way, bringing his experience as a technologist, science entrepreneur, and diversity and equity leader to venture capital.
Read MoreThe Journey to Well-Being: A series on mental health and the unique demands of entrepreneurship
Paramedics. Social workers. Soldiers. Those are the kinds of roles you might associate with workplace trauma. But as we’ve explored in parts one and two in this “Journey to Well-being” series, being a founder comes with a significant emotional weight that should not be ignored.
Read MoreWe are excited to welcome Dan Recht as managing director of the Activate Boston Community, where he will use his technical and business expertise to mentor fellows.
Read MoreFollowing a record number of applications, we are thrilled to introduce Activate Cohort 2023, the largest cohort in our almost 10-year history.
Read MoreThe Journey to Well-Being: A series on mental health and the unique demands of entrepreneurship
Climate change is impacting more than weather, biodiversity, and travel. It’s impacting our humanity. Over the past decade, Renée Lertzman has gone from being one of the few voices raising awareness for the need to address climate anxiety through an integrative approach across the climate movement, to her current role as a climate psychologist and business strategist. We sat down with her to learn more about her approach and what she’s learned about supporting climate founders’ mental health at her own startup, Project InsideOut.
Read MoreThe co-founders of SoloPulse Corp share one very dark and formative experience—they have endured the painful loss of a family member or loved one to suicide. As the team observes Mental Health Awareness Month, co-founder and COO Victoria Rische reflects on how the company’s leaders use these tragic scars to shape the culture of the company through three fundamental cultural values: compassion, open dialogue, and support.
Read MoreThe pathway for deep-tech founders is different. Here’s what they should consider when raising capital—straight from experts in VC and climate tech.
Read MoreActivate Anywhere is disrupting innovation with its distributed model—and building a strong community of innovators across the United States.
Read MoreIn pursuing our mission of empowering brilliant minds to solve some of the biggest challenges in our collective history, Activate works with various entities, including the U.S. government, private funders, philanthropies, and state governments to achieve these goals. We are proud and grateful to note that all of our geographic communities in Berkeley, Boston, and New York (not including our recently announced Houston location) now receive support from state governments that provide funding for scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs at the local level to drive climate-tech innovation.
Read MoreKezi Cheng (Cohort 2021, FLO Materials) and Yajing Zhao (Cohort 2022, Mesophase) attended the Forbes 30/50 Summit in Abu Dhabi, a one-of-a-kind event bringing together legendary women icons and Forbes 30 Under 30 and 50 Over 50 “listers” for cross-generational mentorship. Find out what advice the world’s most powerful women had for the next generation of innovators.
Read MoreThe Journey to Well-Being: A series on mental health and the unique demands of entrepreneurship
Many successful entrepreneurs are creative thinkers who can maintain intense, seemingly inexhaustible focus on their mission. They are willing to operate without assurances—and in fact seem to thrive despite uncertainty. But the traits that make these entrepreneurs extraordinary can also make them vulnerable.
Read MoreThe struggles of women in science are particularly acute for those who wish to pursue entrepreneurship, as they often face additional obstacles in launching and growing successful ventures. Despite these difficulties, women are increasingly breaking through barriers to make significant contributions to their fields, and inspiring future generations of women to do the same. We asked some Activate Fellows about their inspiring personal stories.
Read MoreAfter a day of presentations at the ARPA-E Innovation Summit on topics including grid storage and federal policy for energy startups, along with a collection of tech demos, Activate welcomed approximately 120 old and new friends to a local pub for a reception, our Houston expansion announcement, and a panel talk, followed by two hours of networking, food, and conversation.
Read MoreWe are thrilled to announce Activate’s expansion to Houston, the emerging capital of the global clean energy transition. The new Activate Houston Community joins a growing innovation ecosystem that builds upon the region’s energy leadership with an important new focus on enabling a low-carbon future. We look forward to cultivating high-impact science entrepreneurs in the Houston region to help drive forward this exciting transition.
Read MoreMarch 22, 2023 - Washington, D.C. - Activate today announced the expansion of its immersive fellowship for science entrepreneurs with the launch of the newest Activate community in Houston. By promoting the advancement of early stage science entrepreneurs, Activate looks forward to playing an important role in the region’s influential clean energy ecosystem, and accelerating Houston's role as the world’s clean energy transition capital.
Read MoreHouston, the United States’ fourth largest city, is an industrial powerhouse with several claims to fame. It boasts the largest life science complex in the world: the Texas Medical Center. It is home to the NASA Johnson Space Center and earned the name “Space City” during the pivotal space exploration era of the 1960s. It has been named the most diverse city in the United States. And it is perhaps most famous for being the energy capital of the world.
Read MoreWe in the Activate community are deeply saddened by the passing of Alexei Marchenkov on January 31, 2023.
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