Startup Series: Epoch Biodesign

Today's guest is Jacob Nathan, CEO and Co-Founder of Epoch Biodesign.

Plastics are among the most visible and ubiquitous environmental issues plaguing Earth today. Hundreds of millions of tons of plastics are produced every year, but they weren't mass produced until after World War II (that's just one human lifetime ago). As a byproduct of the fossil fuel industry, plastics contribute significantly to the value of a barrel of oil, they create considerable emissions when produced, and they release carbon into the atmosphere when they are incinerated at the end of their lifecycle. So while plastics are a key building block of our modern world, they're also very problematic.

Epoch Biodesign is on a mission to scale and industrialize biology to solve the world's biggest climate challenges, starting with an enzyme that eats plastic and converts it to industrial chemicals. The company is currently working with unrecyclable plastics that would otherwise go to landfill or incineration. The resulting molecules from their unique biological process can be used to create new products like adhesives, cleaning products, and fertilizers.

We have a great discussion with Jacob about the role of plastics in society, their impact on climate change, how Epoch Biodesign's technology works, and the company’s plans to leverage modern compute power to unlock other biological innovations in the future.

Enjoy the show!

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Episode recorded July 15, 2022.