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BFD Expert Voices - Climate Deals

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Mining with electrical pulses, space solar cells, and terraforming robots are just some of the ideas that founders showed off at an event at San Francisco Climate Week.

Why it matters: Early-stage deep tech remains a bright spot as electricity demand soars, and U.S. policy favors domestic mining and supply chains. 

Yes, but: Don't call it climate tech if you're looking to raise funding. 

State of play: Dozens of founders supported by Activate, Breakthrough Energy Discovery, and UC Berkeley's Bakar Labs displayed their tech and chatted with investors that filled the room on Wednesday afternoon at the Deep Tech Investor Expo on Pier 15.

Many of the startups were looking for seed rounds to bring their early-stage technologies to market. Others had just closed VC funding or secured government awards.

Zoom in: Thunderstone CEO and founder Eric Wasson Burns described how the startup uses electrical pulses to stimulate ore and facilitate metal extraction. 

Koosha Nazif, CEO of Arinna, showed off his company's thin, flexible space solar cells made from 2D semiconductors. 

Aikido founder and CEO Sam Kanner detailed the company's pivot from floating wind tech to building marine data centers. 

Marathon Fusion founder and CTO Adam Rutkowski showed off demos of its fuel processing technologies. 

Smiling man at a tech expo booth with an ARINNA banner, wearing a name badge and holding a dark bag with a brown strap. Background shows attendees, a blue table, and a large product poster.

Arinna CEO and founder Koosha Nazif shows off a thin, flexible space solar panel made from 2D semiconductors. Photo: Katie Fehrenbacher/Axios

What we're watching: The data center boom continues to play a leading role in how climate tech startups are looking to commercialize their tech.

Autonomous vehicles also are a bright spot in 2026 as more hit the roads and charging networks get deployed.  

The intrigue: CEOs and investors at other events during the week lamented the persistent lack of capital for growth companies trying to scale their technologies. 

The big picture: The so-called "missing middle" has long plagued the sector and remains an issue in 2026, but most founders are still upbeat, undaunted by the so-called valley of death. 

Early-stage deep tech shines at SF Climate Week

Smiling man with round glasses in a navy blazer leans on a wooden display at a science exhibit. Behind him are shelves with instruments, a large brown cylindrical device, and a Thunderstone banner.

Thunderstone CEO Eric Wasson Burns shows off the startup's electrical pulse mining tech prototypes. Photo: Katie Fehrenbacher/Axios

Mining with electrical pulses, space solar cells, and terraforming robots are just some of the ideas that founders showed off at an event at San Francisco Climate Week.Why it matters: Early-stage deep tech remains a bright spot as electricity demand soars, and U.S. policy favors domestic mining and supply chains.

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Early-stage deep tech shines at SF Climate Week

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