Activate Updates: May 2026

May 27, 2026

What’s the difference between scaling and achieving scale? One is a verb—something our fellows work on every day, navigating the complexity of commercializing hard tech in a world that wasn't necessarily built to support it. The other is a milestone. A proof point. A moment when all the hard work is validated.

This month gave us more of those moments than most. An Activate Fellow company on the public markets for the first time. Fellows whose technologies are now powering some of the largest companies in the world. A new program bringing Activate's model of science entrepreneurship to Japan.

And then there is our graduating Cohort 2024—closing out their second year of the fellowship, and already earning coverage in the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.

Soon, we will welcome Cohort 2026, whose story is yet to be written. Seeing the full range of the fellow journey—from promising beginnings to a company going public, and the myriad other ways our fellows define success—reminds us that one cohort's breakthrough raises what's possible for the next.

Enter: FRVO

Fervo Energy (Tim Latimer & Jack Norbeck, Cohort 2018) has become the first Activate Fellow-led company to go public. Living proof of Activate’s Theory of Change, Fervo exemplifies how early support for ambitious hard-tech innovation translates into scalable, real-world impact. Ringing the Nasdaq bell, Latimer said it would become obvious that geothermal will be the next great American energy technology. But it wasn’t always obvious—we looked back at Latimer and Norbeck’s journey, their continued involvement in the Activate community, and what this “watershed moment” signals for hard tech.

Activate Expands to Japan

Activate’s work of building the community that drives science into impact goes beyond borders. Now, we’re supporting early-stage innovation in Japan. We recently launched the Activate BRIDGE Japan Program in partnership with UTokyo IPC; Japan’s Bureau of Science, Technology and Innovation; and global integrated marketing and innovation agency Hakuhodo. The nine-month curriculum reaches deep-tech founders before they even leave the lab, allowing them to explore the commercial viability of their innovations and receive entrepreneurial training as early as possible.

Meeting Today’s Energy Demands

As power demands climb, Activate Fellows are reaching commercial inflection points up and down the energy stack. Two of this month’s biggest headlines came from Antora Energy (David Bierman, Cohort 2017, Justin Briggs & Andrew Ponec, Cohort 2018) and Noon Energy (Chris Graves, Cohort 2018). Antora commissioned one of the world's largest energy storage projects—going from an empty lot to a fully operating production system in under 12 months. Meanwhile, Noon announced a one-gigawatt energy storage agreement with Meta Platforms, the largest of its kind in the long-duration energy storage market.

In Our Ecosystem

Congratulations, Cohort 2024!

After two years of building, iterating, and pushing the boundaries of what's possible, Cohort 2024 has officially graduated from the Activate Fellowship. As we celebrate this milestone, here’s what Cohort 2024 achieved in their final month as Activate Fellows:

Krish Mehta (PHNX Materials) was featured in the Wall Street Journal Pro article, “He Managed Finances on Tesla’s Model 3. Now He Wants to Break China’s Grip on Chip-Making Materials.”
Icarus Quantum (Poolad Imany) was awarded a $1.25M Direct-to-Phase II SBIR contract from the U.S. Air Force.
Solidec (Ryan DuChanois & Yang Xia) joined the newest cohort at Third Derivative and was named a finalist for the $250K Wilkes Center Climate Prize at the University of Utah.
Every Electric (Richard May & Andrew Wang) was featured in the Washington Post and AP News for its air conditioning battery pilot program for renters.
Eli Hornstein (Elysia Creative Biology) was featured on the Climate Biotech Podcast from Homeworld Collective in the episode entitled “Plant Synthetic Biology for Methane Mitigation.”
EELI Technology (Mert Akin) is partnering with E8 Angels.
Praio (Advait Holkar) launched its first product: the Praio Environment Screening Panel.
Bairitone Health (Meagan Pitcher) received FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for its noninvasive technology designed for obstructive sleep apnea.

More Fellow News

Across the broader Activate community, current fellows and alumni also made waves this month:

Lightfinder (Diana Mojahed, Cohort 2025) won the 2026 Lam Capital Venture Competition.
Foray Bioscience (Ashley Beckwith, Cohort 2022) joined the Massachusetts AI Coalition to help define what it looks like to build applied AI at the frontier of biology and the physical world.
Aepnus Technology (Lukas Hackl & Bilen Aküzüm, Cohort 2022) and REEgen (Alexa Schmitz, Cohort 2022) were selected for Trellis Group’s 2026 Climate Tech Startups to Watch in the Data Centers category.
Thalo Labs (Brendan Hermalyn, Cohort 2021) raised an investment from Suffolk Technologies to put AI in the hands of HVAC technicians.
Cella Mineral Storage (Claire Nelson, Cohort 2023) successfully completed its first CO2 injection test at its pilot facility in Kenya.
Brimstone (Cody Finke, Cohort 2019) was named one of the “17 Startups Rebuilding America” by Inc. Magazine.
Anthro Energy (David Mackanic, Cohort 2021) signed a Master MOU with EnPower to jointly develop, manufacture, and scale high-performance lithium-ion cells in the United States.
Pulsenics (Mariam Awara & Essam Elsahwi, Cohort 2022) launched AccelaGrade™ Module, the newest addition to the AccelaGrade™ product family, to help module makers and integrators ship batteries faster. Pulsenics also joined a research consortium automating battery research in Germany and Canada.
Tyfast Energy (GJ La O' & Haodong Liu, Cohort 2022) signed an MOU with Bradda Head Lithium to advance the domestic battery supply chain needed to power heavy-duty vehicles, mining, construction, and defense.
Nitricity (Jay Schwalbe & Josh McEnaney, Cohort 2020) was named Best Growth Venture at this year’s Industry Growth Forum.
AlkaLi Labs (Luis Valencia, Cohort 2025) was selected as one of eight companies for STRIDE Ventures' Tech Metal Transformation challenge, receiving $2M funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships.
Novel Farms (Michelle Lu & Nieves Martinez Marshall, Cohort 2023) was recognized as part of the Forward Fooding 2026 FoodTech 500 newcomers.
InchFab (Mitchell Hsing & Parker Gould, Cohort 2019) was featured in an article by the IEEE Spectrum, “Chip Fab-in-a-Box Could Democratize Semiconductors.”
Vellex Computing (Palak Jain, Cohort 2023) was awarded $30K as a winner in the IC Taiwan Grand Challenge to help advance Vellex's Analog Hardware Accelerator for AI Model Training.
Fermi Energy (Ray Xu, Cohort 2025) joined the newest cohort at Third Derivative.
ChipAdd (Scott Schiffres, Cohort 2025) received recognition for its 2025 patent at the third annual Innovation to Impact Symposium hosted by Binghamton University’s Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Partnerships.
Gradient’s (Vince Romanin, Cohort 2017) heat pump has been named a 2026 Sustainable Product of the Year by Green Builder Media. Gradient was also featured in the Grist article, “American homes need heat pumps, not space heaters.”
Feon Energy (Wenxiao Huang & Zhiao Yu, Cohort 2023) signed a MOU with Orbia Fluor & Energy Materials to accelerate the scale-up and domestic production of Feon’s next-generation electrolyte technologies.
Carl Hoiland (Zanskar, Cohort 2020) and Tim Latimer (Fervo Energy, Cohort 2018) spoke on the panel "From Wells to Watts: Advanced Geothermal at Scale" at the Operation Gigawatt Summit.