Why deep tech

By Jared Silvia · · 2 min read

AI may be dominating the conversation, but atoms aren't going anywhere

deep techinnovation

I spend a lot of time thinking about AI these days. You might be too.

Sometimes I think about how I can use AI to make my life "better." Sometimes I wonder whether AI is dangerous. Sometimes, I'm just sick and tired of hearing about AI.

But a couple of days ago, I went for a short walk up a nearby hill. The sun was out, its rays slanting through the late afternoon sky. Birds were flitting between the branches of the trees. As I passed other walkers, we said hi and smiled.

It's in these moments of physical experience that I'm reminded why I am putting so much of my time and energy into deep tech rather than AI.

We live in a physical world. As a freshman in high school, I became enamored with chemistry. I remember thinking about how Van der Waals forces, hydrogen bonding, and covalent bonds worked together to create materials we could use to build pencils, furniture, and even houses. And to a large extent, a human and a tree were made of mostly the same stuff!

Deep tech, as I think about it here at Deep Tech Dirt, is all about finding new innovations in the physical world. We need our physical world to provide water, food, and shelter. If these necessities aren't provided, everything else in modern life is superfluous.

And making sure that we have water, food, and shelter for 8 billion-plus people requires ongoing innovation. Deep Tech Dirt is one way I am trying to help ensure that this innovation happens.

This is also why I recently joined the team at Activate. In my new role, I'll help find amazing scientists and engineers who can build the companies of the future.

Deep tech innovation is tough, but together we can make it easier.

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Mentioned on The List

  • Activate — Accelerator, Incubator, Fellowship

    Activate is a two-year immersive fellowship program founded in 2015 that empowers scientists to launch deep-tech ventures addressing climate change and global challenges by transforming scientists into high-impact entrepreneurs. The fellowship provides skills training, networks, infrastructure, and $300,000 in equity-free funding, with nearly all fellows to date achieving first financing and key product milestones as they commercialize their IP-driven businesses. Applicants must be based in physical/biological sciences or related engineering disciplines with the entrepreneurial drive to build profitable startups, and the program operates across multiple U.S. locations (Berkeley, CA; Boston, MA; New York, NY; Houston, TX; Remote).

Written by

Jared Silvia

Entrepreneur, problem solver, and curious person. I've worked in the Energy and Materials sector for 15 years.

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