IPIRA Startups

IPIRA Startups

Adura Technologies

Brief Description

Adura Technologies provides wireless lighting and energy management systems to improve energy efficiency and facilitate cost savings.

Adura Technologies was acquired by Acuity Brands in 2013.

Inventors

Charlie Huizenga

Company Founders

Nathaniel Goldhaber (UC Berkeley, M.A. ’85, Education)

Timeline 2005. Company founded 2013. Adura Technologies acquired by Acuity Brands

Acrigen Biosciences, Inc.

Brief Description

Acrigin Biosciences is developing Precision Gene Editing Systems to harness the power of CRISPR for use in human therapeutics. Acrigen’s proprietary technology leverages novel αCas and μCas CRISPR gene editors coupled with ErAcrs (engineered anti-CRISPR proteins) to create an editing toolbox with best-in-class efficiency and precision. The company's technology will expand the impact of CRISPR by improving the efficacy and safety of novel gene editing therapies.

Inventors

Jennifer Doudna, Christof Fellmann, Haridha Shivram, Kyle Watters

Company Founders

David...

Aclima Inc.

Brief Description

Aclima’s platform combines leading-edge sensor technology, climate science, and an enterprise software back-end to generate high-resolution maps of emissions across pollutants – from CO2 and methane to particulate matter. Aclima fills a fundamental need in climate risk management by making hyperlocal emissions data and insights accessible and standardized, at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods.

Inventors

Frederick Doering, Igor Paprotny, Richard White

Company Founders

Daniel Ahn, Wendy Schmidt (UC Berkeley, M.S., Journalism), Deborah...

A/F Protein Inc.

Brief Description

A/F Protein Inc. is the world's only commercial producer of antifreeze proteins purified from natural sources for sale to the research and development community. The company was spun out of discoveries in the lab of UC Berkeley Professor of Bioengineering and Mechanical Engineering Boris Rubinsky, an expert in the field of ice physics. Dr. Rubinsky reported on the ability of antifreeze proteins and glycoproteins to interact with mammalian cell membranes at hypothermic temperatures and protect such cells from depolarization and death. This important finding has led to...

Ergodicity

Brief Description

Ergodicity develops analytical methods for the age of AI. The company takes a data-first approach to create next-generation optical tools that set new standards in the accessibility of information in chemical and biophysical analytics for biotech.

Inventors

Hendrik Utzat

Company Founders

UC Berkeley Assistant Professor of Chemistry Hendrik Utzat and Richard Maceiczyk

Timeline 2025. Company founded

Azalea Therapeutics, Inc.

Brief Description

Azalea Therapeutics is an early-stage biotech startup on a mission to revolutionize genomic medicines. By designing vehicles that enable cell-specific delivery inside the body, the company aims to unlock precision therapeutics for genetic diseases and unleash the promise of cellular-based therapies.

Inventors

Connor Tsuchida, Jennifer Doudna, Jennifer Hamilton

Company Founders

UC Berkeley Professor of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Structural Biology Jennifer Doudna, Jennifer Hamilton (UC Berkeley PhD, Doudna Lab, 2018-2023); Connor Tsuchida (UC Berkeley...

SirenOpt

Brief Description

SirenOpt provides manufacturing intelligence solutions that accelerate research and development and enable cost-effective manufacturing of high-performance micro- and nano-materials, including lithium-ion batteries, membranes, semiconductors, flexible electronics, packaging materials, and many others. The company's real-time manufacturing intelligence platform, designed for cost-effective manufacturing of thin films, utilizes cold atmospheric plasma and physics-informed machine learning to collect critical manufacturing data and improve manufacturing quality and output....

Water Harvesting, Inc

Brief Description Water Harvesting Inc. was formed in 2018 to commercialize atmospheric water harvesting systems based on metal organic frameworks (MOFs) and address the global challenge of water scarcity. MOFs work for atmospheric water harvesting even under very arid conditions. Inventors

Farhad Fathieh, Nikita Hanikel, Markus Kalmutzki, Ievgen Kapustin, Hao Lyu, Mathieu Steven Prevot, Omar Yaghi, JingJing Yang, Bing Zhang

Company Founders

Frank Ramirez (Berkeley Law, JD, 1979), Chris Kay, Eugene Kapustin (UC Berkeley PhD, 2018, Chemistry), David Kuo (UC Berkeley, MS, 1985, Ph.D...

ProMOF, Inc.

Brief Description

ProMOF is commercializing molecular weaving, a method of creating materials by interconnecting organic threads at the molecular level, much like weaving fabric. The technology, pioneered by UC Berkeley Professor of Chemistry Omar Yaghi, makes polymer composites stronger and tougher without compromising function, with potential applications in energy storage, gas separation, and other fields.

Inventors

Omar Yaghi, Yuzhong Liu, Ting Xu, Cornelius Groop, S. Ephraim Neumann, Junpyo Kwon

Timeline 2024. Company...

Atoco

Brief Description

Atoco was created to leverage decades of advancements in reticular chemistry and nanotechnology to fight climate change. The company is tackling the causes of global warming and the resulting water scarcity by developing sustainable and transformational solutions in the fields of Atmospheric Water Harvesting and CO2 Capture – all built upon Professor Omar Yaghi’s discoveries in molecularly engineered materials. When Yaghi pioneered reticular chemistry in the 1990s, he did not envision that this breakthrough could change the world. He was more focused on the task at hand:...