Introduction
As we publish this report, we have witnessed an unprecedented shuttering of businesses and supply chains around the world. Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, the world seemed to finally be waking up to the realities of climate change. And even the most modern economy in the world, California, suffered from basic energy security issues. Global giants have taken notice of course. Gilead Sciences and others are using modern biotech tools to quickly develop vaccines and treatments for COVID-19. Companies such as Microsoft have pledged to become carbon negative by 2030. Giant utilities such as Con Edison are going all in on renewables and energy storage.
Grand challenges present opportunity, and at Pangaea we believe in the power of entrepreneurship to solve the biggest problems in the world. Breakthroughs in advanced materials, chemistry, and biochemistry married with the best entrepreneurs is the most powerful formula to realize our vision of a better world. At Pangaea Ventures, we are proud to be partnered with companies that share our vision. In this year’s issue, you will hear from the CEOs of three such companies. And from a fourth you will hear how diversity can be such a powerful tool for investors to embrace.
Our most recent investment, TruTag Technologies, enables authentication and safety of products such as pharmaceuticals and food. It is thought that 250,000 children die after receiving adulterated or outright fake drugs intended to treat malaria and pneumonia alone. Hazel Technologies has commercialized a technology to increase the shelf life of food. As much as two billion tons of food are wasted around the world each year, creating a huge opportunity in all four of our impact areas. Finally, Modulim is marketing a new imaging paradigm that infers oxygen content and health of tissue. At low cost and low risk, novel diagnostics are a powerful weapon that doctors can leverage to provide earlier and more targeted interventions that improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs.
There is a quote from a famous venture capitalist: “Software is Eating the World”. While the power of software cannot be denied, the solutions to the world’s biggest problems cannot be solved without advanced materials.
Our vision is “Advanced Materials for a Better World”.
