Luciano Bueno, founder of GALY, discusses lab-grown cotton using sugar, its benefits, and market strategies. They explore innovative textile production, fundraising challenges, and other applications like saffron and cell-based meat.
Lab-grown cotton offers sustainability benefits like reduced land usage and minimal chemical requirements.
Entrepreneurs in climate tech must pivot towards purpose-driven ventures for success.
Deep dives
Introduction to Business and Climate Change Course at HBS Online
A new online course, Business and Climate Change, has been launched by HBS, focusing on tools for companies to enhance resilience to environmental challenges like droughts and storms, while reducing emissions. It aims to inform organizational strategies using global insights.
Decarbonizing Agricultural Products with Lab-Grown Cotton
The episode delves into lab-grown cotton, with Luciano Bueno from Gali discussing their startup's use of sugar to cultivate cotton cells in the lab. The conversation explores the journey from being an entrepreneur to entering the lab-grown agriculture space, emphasizing a shift towards purpose-driven ventures.
Technology and Advantages of Lab-Grown Cotton Production
The technology behind cell-based cotton production is detailed, highlighting its ability to replicate complex structures like cotton fibers. The benefits over conventional methods include reduced land usage, minimal chemical requirements, and higher production efficiency with multiple harvests throughout the year.
Scaling and Market Impact of Lab-Grown Cotton
The discussion centers on production scalability, cost considerations, and market strategies for lab-grown cotton. Initiatives to achieve cost parity with conventional cotton without premium dependencies are emphasized, aiming for mass-market accessibility while navigating challenges in fundraising and investor priorities.
Today’s episode is the fourthin our series on decarbonizing the roots of value chains, where we’re looking deep into supply chains that serve many industries. Previously we talked about the technical products of green concrete and green steel, and agriculture through the lens of regenerative agriculture. Today we continue our focus on decarbonizing agricultural products by focusing on lab-grown cotton. Luciano Bueno, founder and CEO of GALY, joins me today to talk about how his biomaterials start-up uses sugar to feed cells and grow cotton in the lab. Luciano will share how he rebounded from a venture that failed, and then started GALY and grew it into the Series B company it is today. I’ll also ask him to share his views of the future of lab-grown fabrics and his reflections on entrepreneurship in climate tech more broadly.
Host and Guest
Climate Rising Host: Professor Mike Toffel, Faculty Chair, Business & Environment Initiative (LinkedIn)
Guest: Luciano Bueno, Founder and CEO at GALY (LinkedIn)
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