Near Frontier
Near Frontier
Cantos Ventures
Frontier technology is our best shot at solving humanity’s most pressing challenges. But how do these companies get built? Near Frontier takes you behind the scenes where the world’s most innovative companies work towards mitigating disease, climate change, and x-risk. We talk to founders, investors, and operators to bring you unfiltered stories on how deep tech companies come to life and most importantly, give us hope for the future. Near Frontier is brought to you by Cantos, a venture firm that invests in world-positive deep tech startups at pre-seed and seed. To learn more, visit www.cantos.vc or find us on Twitter @CantosVC.
Reprogramming your Neuroimmune System w/ Mike and Scott of Modulo
Today we're joined by Mike Horowitz and Scott Patterson, co-founders of Modulo.  Modulo is designing therapeutics to reprogram your neuroimmune system by focusing on microglia cells—the swiss army knife of the brain. In this episode we get into the potential of microglia and why it has taken so long to uncover it, the impetus behind starting Modulo, and how we can combat neurodegenerative diseases from frontotemporal dementia to Alzheimer's and beyond. You can learn more about Modulo here   Show notes:  book mentioned: Angel and the Assasin Wired article Community advocate for C9orf72 Lee Holloway story
Jun 13, 2023
47 min
Discovering Early-Stage Talent with Yusuf Uddin of KdT Ventures
We're doing something a little different on Near Frontier this week! Natalie Estrella, Cantos' talent partner takes to the show to chat with Yusuf Uddin, head of talent at KdT Ventures. They cover what it's like building highly technical early-stage teams at various startups, what goes on behind the scenes in recruiting, and best practices for finding the right talent at the right time. If you're looking to hire early-stage talent or join an early stage startup, this episode is for you. Feel free to reach out to Natalie ([email protected]) and Yusuf ([email protected]) as well.    KdT Ventures: https://kdtvc.com  Cantos Ventures: https://cantos.vc
May 10, 2023
26 min
Decarbonizing Cement with Gurinder Nagra of Furno Materials
Today we're joined by Gurinder Nagra, founder and CEO of Furno Materials. Furno is on a mission to decarbonize cement production, a shockingly dirty industry responsible for 8% of global CO2 emissions.  In this episode we break down the process of making cement, why it is so dirty, and why Furno is more of a new industrials company than "climate tech" company.  Learn more about Furno here or get in touch with Gurinder at [email protected] Note: at 23:19, "10-20 days of productions" should be corrected to "10-20 tons/days of production"
Feb 13, 2023
39 min
Building the Bioforge w/ Sean Hunt of Solugen
We're lucky to have Sean Hunt, cofounder of Solugen, with us on Near Frontier today. We talk to Sean about the evolution of clean tech into synthetic biology, what makes Solugen special, how to build a revenue generating hard tech business, and more. Deep tech founders and investors, this is one where you'll want to pull out your notepads.   Solugen website Solugen twitter Sean's twitter
Oct 11, 2022
1 hr 1 min
The Fourth Pillar of Cancer w/ Anand Parikh of Faeth Therapeutics
Today we're joined by Anand Parikh, founder and CEO of Faeth Therapeutics. Faeth combines precision nutrition, therapeutics, and digital health to deliver a cancer-fighting program designed to deprive tumors of the nutrients they need to grow while providing optimal nutritional support to healthy tissues.  In this episode, we get into what led Anand to start Faeth, dig into the operational complexity behind the business's software, therapeutics, and nutrition aspects, discuss fundraising for an unconventional business model, and more.  Get in touch— Anand's socials Enroll in Faeth's clinical trials here Check out Faeth's open roles here
Aug 24, 2022
59 min
Building Space Planes with Sassie Duggleby of Venus Aerospace
Today we're joined by Sassie Duggleby, co-founder and CEO of Venus Aerospace. Venus is a Houston-based aerospace company building hypersonic space planes that fly at Mach 9 taking you anywhere in the world within an hour. We talk about hypersonics, challenges in building airframes that can support hypersonic speeds, and how Sassie has built an inclusive and balanced culture at Venus. If you're curious about the future of transportation, then this episode is for you.  Twitter: Venus Aerospace, Sassie Duggleby Website: Venus Aerospace
May 23, 2022
59 min
Scaling Robotics with Tessa Lau of Dusty Robotics
Today we're joined by Tessa Lau, founder and CEO of Dusty Robotics, a Bay Area construction robotics company. We talk to Tessa about the vision for Dusty, how she got started, dealing with supply chain, selling into construction, and her advice for new deep tech founders. If you're interested in robotics, construction, or building hardware startups, then this episode is for you.    Dusty Robotics twitter Dusty Robotics website Tessa Lau twitter Dusty Robotics tik tok videos
Apr 5, 2022
49 min
Organ Printing with Melanie Matheu of Prellis Biologics
We talk to Prellis Biologics founder Melanie Matheu about bioprinting organs with Prellis' holographic laser technology, using bioprinted lymph node organoids for antibody discovery, and Melanie's advice for new bio founders with regards to choosing focus and setting early partnerships.  Note: We discuss the January 2022 pig-to-human heart transplant at 13:45. This episode was recorded before we learned that the recipient of the transplant has since passed away.  Get in touch with Prellis— Prellis Twitter Melanie's Twitter Prellis website
Mar 16, 2022
38 min
Synthetic Biology and Biomanufacturing with Joshua Britton from Debut Biotech
Today we're joined by Dr. Joshua Britton, founder and CEO of Debut Biotech, a cell-free biomanufacturing company. Josh gives us a crash course on synthetic biology and biomanufacturing, walking us through the various methods and promise of this industry that may very well shift industrial production away from fossil fuels. We also get into some of the founding story of Debut, including how Cantos' investment in Debut came to be...hint: it had to do with a cold message.  Shownotes: Power: Limits and Prospects foor Human Survial by Richard Heinberg McKinsey report on synthetic biology Debut Biotech on Twitter
Feb 22, 2022
56 min
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