Fifty Years

We're hiring a team in London to build this! 1/ Head of UK 2/ Program lead 3/ Data engineer 4/ Product hacker 5/ Head of content 6/ Recruiter hello AT fiftyyears DOT com with your CV/LinkedIn and a note about why this excites you. Tag someone you think could be great!

Make something civilization needs.

Thrilled to see Seth Bannon and Ela Madej of Fifty Years bringing their vision and support to the UK through the 5050 program! When Alexander Lorestani and I made the leap from grad school to founding Geltor, Fifty Years was among the first to believe in our mission. Their backing and advice were invaluable as we navigated those early days. If you're a scientist or engineer in the UK with big ideas, this is a fantastic opportunity to connect with a team that truly understands how to turn visionary science into impactful companies. Highly recommend checking out this new program!

Hey ???? entrepreneurs and scientists, this is great news. You might have heard of ARIA, the ???? new R&D funding agency aims to unlock big scientific & technological breakthroughs that can benefit everyone. Fewer of you will have heard of Fifty Years (5050) who are proven investors that back scientists looking to successfully tackle the world's biggest problems as entrepreneurs. 5050 are led by awesome founders Ela Madej & Seth Bannon who are fellow Y Combinator S12 batch mates. Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) is led by a cracking team & notably Chairman Matt Clifford. This partnership is a natural fit and the best backing you might wish for in tackling those big breakthroughs. Demis Hassabis needed Google to scale up, and today win a Nobel Prize. Here is another path you can take.

???? In partnership with the Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA), we’re bringing 5050 to the UK! ???? The UK is a global powerhouse of invention. Penicillin, DNA’s double helix, MRIs, monoclonal antibodies, the electric motor, the telephone, and the World Wide Web were all invented or discovered by brilliant UK minds. Yet, none of those inventions were successfully commercialized in the UK. Britain invents the future – then others go build it. This pattern is primed to be broken. 5050 will inspire and equip scientists and engineers in the UK to become great founders and build the next decade of civilization-defining companies. The first cohort starts early next year. Follow the link below to be the first to know when applications open.

FIRST FLIGHT COMPLETE ?? Today, we are announcing the successful flight test of our first sub-scale demonstrator. CX-1 is Cosmic Aerospace’s first experimental aircraft. It features a 2.5 meter wingspan and was designed, built and tested in less than a month. The primary objectives of the vehicle were: Validate and verify the stability and control characteristics of the embedded wing configuration?? Achieve systems integration of the embedded wing with 10 integrated engines?? Test our autonomous flight control systems?? Build the internal capability to design, build, and test aircraft rapidly?? What’s next? We’re swiftly advancing toward larger and more powerful prototypes. The next step is CX-2, a vehicle twice the size of CX-1, with significantly higher performance and an expanded engine count. Follow us to stay in the loop! #ElectricFlight #FirstFlight #CosmicAerospace #SustainableAviation #Innovation

The early days of startups typically aren't that pretty. In 2016 Solugen did NOT win an MIT pitch competition but they won $10K. They took that money and built a prototype reactor with wood and PVC pipes bought from Home Depot. Literally held together with zip ties. That reactor made chemicals which they sold to float spas. That convinced us to write them their first check. Prototype reactor on the left. Their new Bioforge on the right.

Today we're returning multiples to investors in two Fifty Years funds. We set out to prove that backing founders building civilizationally important startups is the path to prosperity. One step closer. Onwards!

Hydrofoiling was discovered in the 1800s, but only in the 2020s is the technology being broadly utilized. It is still the early days for hydrofoiling tech! I filmed Valo in Alameda, CA to try out their R&D "hyperfoil" vehicle for Episode 55 of S3.

Things are only impossible until they're not.