Future in Bloom
Future in Bloom
Steph Speirs
How AI Slashes Clean Energy R&D by Decades W/ Lisbeth Kaufman
38 minutes Posted Mar 6, 2026 at 1:55 pm.
Intro: Is AI a Tool for Good or Evil?
Big Tech as Environmental Heroes: Creating Global Demand Pull
The $7 Billion Resource Engine: How AWS Credits Fund Climate Tech
Realta Fusion: Recreating the Sun and Slashing R&D Timelines with AI
Amazon’s 100% Renewable Milestone: Powering the Future of Cloud
AI in Action: From Wildfire Prevention to Tracking Methane from Space
Founder Secrets: How to Create \"FOMO\" to Win Your Seed Round
The 400% Tomato: AI-Driven Food Security & Final Takeaway
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Show notes

Lisbeth Kaufman, AWS Head of Climate Tech Startups and former founder, joins Steph Speirs to discuss how the world’s largest cloud provider is accelerating the next generation of environmental giants. From “building a star on Earth” with fusion energy to AI-powered robots eliminating pesticides, Elizabeth breaks down the massive $7 billion resource engine helping startups scale past the “Valley of Death.” Learn why big tech is the secret weapon for 24/7 clean energy and how generative AI is slashing R&D timelines from 40 years to just 10.


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Future in Bloom bridges climate tech and human nature. Hosted by clean energy entrepreneur Steph Speirs, Future in Bloom brings together innovators, scientists, and investors working on the world’s most promising planetary solutions.

Adapted from the Yale School of Management course “Climate Tech Innovation and Commercialization,” learners discover next generation technologies through data-driven lectures, deep dive studio interviews, and vivid short documentaries. Future in Bloom is here to show that a thriving future is within reach.

Future in Bloom is supported by the Yale Center for Business and the Environment.


About Me:
Steph Speirs is a clean energy entrepreneur, strategic advisor, and teacher. She founded Future in Bloom, a media studio about intelligent solutions for a thriving world. Steph teaches climate entrepreneurship at Yale School of Management and is a Resident Fellow at the Center for Business and the Environment. She keynotes and advises philanthropists, investors, and companies on the future of climate tech and clean energy. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Sierra Club Foundation, Vote Solar, and on the Credit Committee of the Community Investment Guarantee Pool. Steph most recently cofounded and was CEO of Solstice, an enterprise dedicated to radically expanding the number of American households that can take advantage of clean energy using community-shared solar farms (acquired by MyPower/Mitsui). Steph previously worked at the White House National Security Council and in clean energy companies in India and Pakistan.