Hello Tomorrow’s Deep Tech Summit 2025: Key Takeaways & Insights
Touted at the summit was biotech’s potential for being deep tech’s game-changer across industries.
Earlier this month, I attended the inspiring Hello Tomorrow Deep Tech Summit in Paris. The summit was an incredible gathering that showcased groundbreaking technologies and interesting panel discussions on the future of climate tech, biotech, and sustainable development across diverse sectors.
Here are some of my key stand-outs from the summit:
Biotech Beyond Pharma
While many startups showcased amazing solutions to key medical challenges, one particular panel discussion on building successful biotech startups highlighted a key misconception of biotech: biotech is not confined to pharma or medical applications alone. It’s fundamentally about leveraging biology to address pressing challenges across all sectors, from agriculture to climate adaptation. The panelists emphasized that a cookie-cutter approach in investing undermines the unique intersections between biotech and other industries, something I appreciated being raised. What was sadly lacking at the summit was more biotech startups in the agri- and aqua-spaces. However, discussions underscored biotech’s significant role in enhancing climate adaptation strategies and promoting sustainable food production systems. Aquaculture is a prime example of where next-gen biotech can have transformative impacts.
Academic Founders: Strength in Tenacity
In the same session, the panelists agreed that a startup’s success is not about stacking your management team with seasoned business professionals or MBAs, but that success is defined by how adaptable, tenacious and willing a founder is to evolve their research into viable commercial applications. They argued that it’s really about building that commercial “muscle”. The summit reinforced our belief that academic backgrounds are assets, not limitations, when combined with entrepreneurial resilience and strategic vision.
Highlighting Innovative Startups
The summit was a great space for startups to showcase their innovations, and I was amazed at the sheer diversity of solutions. Among the inspiring innovators at the summit were startups like AI Bobby from France and Retein from Sweden. AI Bobby leverages generative AI technology to revolutionize innovation in food proteins, specifically targeting the alternative protein market. Their approach enhances product functionality, accelerates development processes, and reduces costs to deliver sustainable, high-quality food products. Retein is pioneering an innovative approach to resource recovery, employing nature’s most precise molecular separation technology: the cell membrane. Their patented silica-stabilized protein method stabilizes cell membrane proteins, enabling highly efficient, energy-saving, and recovery of resources from water.
Unlocking Africa’s Potential
In one panel discussion on regions of untapped potential, one panelist shared his unsupported (and, frankly, small-minded) view on Africa’s lack of investment potential, something that admittedly annoyed me. Being one of the mentors in an African-based early-stage accelerator program has provided me with ample evidence to the contrary. The continent's biotech landscape, particularly in aquaculture, presents significant opportunities driven by rapid population growth and urgent food security needs. Africa’s aquaculture sector is attracting increasing investment, underscored by innovative startups like Kenya’s Aquarech and Benin’s insect-based fish feeds initiative, demonstrating biotech’s capacity to sustainably intensify local food production, while funds such as EU-based Aqua-Spark's targeted investments highlight growing international confidence in African biotech and aquaculture ventures. Africa's grassroots innovation, resourcefulness, and growing biotech sector represent significant untapped potential, reshaping global perspectives and investment strategies, and I caution those individuals who view otherwise - underestimating the tenacity of the Global South is a hindrance to global and unified progress, particularly as we adapt to climate change.
The deep tech summit left me in awe of the boundless human ingenuity in the world, and even more motivated to continue championing biotech’s transformative potential within aquaculture and climate tech.
