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Science. Innovation. Impact.

Stories of science shaping our future.

The Idea Lab

Our Activate Blog and News Hub

Activate CEO Ilan Gur to Become CEO of Top UK Innovation Agency

A Special Message from Activate Board Chair Liesl Schindler On behalf of the Activate board and team, we are proud to announce the appointment of our founder and CEO, Ilan Gur, to..

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Ilan Gur to Become CEO of Top UK Innovation Agency

07/19/2022 A Special Message from Activate Board Chair Liesl Schindler Friends and colleagues, On behalf of the Activate board and team, we are proud to announce the appointment..

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Transformative Startups Start with Connection, Communication, and Reflection

Sarah Morrill, Activate’s program continuum director In 2019, Sarah Morrill did something that many would consider unorthodox for a principal of an elementary/middle school..

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Meet Naomi Baer, Activate’s New Chief Operating Officer

We are thrilled to introduce Naomi Baer, who joined the Activate team in June as chief operating officer—a new and vital role on our executive team. We sought a seasoned..

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Activate 2020 Fellows on Cultivating and Nurturing Company Culture

Strong workplace culture is essential for teamwork and employee retention—and for Activate Fellows, unlocking great ideas and solving big problems. Following our recent Activate..

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Community, Collisions, & Camaraderie: The 2022 Activate Summit

June 25 was a banner day for the Activate community. For a few jam-packed hours, we reconnected with friends and partners, celebrated the graduating Cohort 2020 fellows, welcomed..

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Meet the 39 New Activate Fellows Who Are on a Mission to Build a Cleaner, Safer Society

After months of deliberations and weeks of preparation, we are thrilled to introduce our next cohort of Activate Fellows. These 39 founders are turning their breakthroughs into..

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Startup to Sale: How Cohort 2015 Fellow Tom McDonald Built and Sustained Mosaic Materials

Baker Hughes has acquired the startup and plans to deploy its carbon dioxide capture technology across the industrial value chain. Tom McDonald was going to be a professor. That..

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Brimstone Raises $55M Series A to Build Pilot Plant, Grow Team

Co-founded by Activate Fellow Cody Finke, Brimstone has developed a pathway to decarbonize cement, the essential material that contributes 7.5 percent of global carbon dioxide..

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Impact Science Ventures Invests in Cohort Companies, Catalyzes New Investment Partnership Program at Activate

We’re thrilled to share the news that Impact Science Ventures (ISV), a venture capital firm co-founded by Activate’s former VP of investments and focused on scaling scientific..

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UMARO Hooks Sharks, Closes Seed Series

UMARO Co-founders Reflect on Growth, Purpose, and Entrepreneurship Beth Zotter and Amanda Stiles on Shark Tank (ABC/Christopher Willard) Co-founded by CTO Amanda Stiles (Cohort..

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Liminal—formerly Feasible—Raised an $8M Series A to Move Tech to Pilot Stage

In early April, Feasible, the battery manufacturing intelligence company co-founded by Cohort 2016 fellows Andrew Hsieh and Barry Van Tassell, announced an $8 million Series A..

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