We are scientists, investors, and fellow founders on a mission to unlock synthetic biology’s full potential.
︎︎︎ In Partnership with Climate Capital Bio
Launched by Juniper, Juniper Zero is a nonprofit incubator supporting early-stage companies at the intersection of climate and biotech.
Juniper (formerly known as Climate Capital Bio) is a pre-seed venture fund backing biotech climate solutions that decarbonize the world’s largest and least sustainable industries. Led by Co-Managing Partners Jenny Kan and Michael Luciani, these founders-turned-investors have backed 40+ early stage biotech x climate startups to date. These companies have gone on to collectively raise hundreds of millions of dilutive and non-dilutive capital to build enduring businesses and help solve humanity’s greatest problems.
Juniper (formerly known as Climate Capital Bio) is a pre-seed venture fund backing biotech climate solutions that decarbonize the world’s largest and least sustainable industries. Led by Co-Managing Partners Jenny Kan and Michael Luciani, these founders-turned-investors have backed 40+ early stage biotech x climate startups to date. These companies have gone on to collectively raise hundreds of millions of dilutive and non-dilutive capital to build enduring businesses and help solve humanity’s greatest problems.
︎︎︎ Our Thesis
Why Climate Biotech? The 75% Problem
The current climate tech landscape suffers from a funding mismatch. Solutions for 25% of overall GHG emissions (primarily energy and transportation), receive the lion's share of investment. The remaining 75%—encompassing diverse sectors like agriculture, materials, and construction—receives just a quarter of climate tech’s private capital.
This is where synthetic biology comes in. Biology is the most advanced technology on earth, and humanity can finally read, write, and edit its code base—affordably and at scale. Programming biology means we build on top of 4.3 billion years of evolutionary R&D to create carbon negative products and solutions that meet the needs of society today.
Sustainable cement, next generation plastics, alternative protein sources, textiles made from spider silk or mushroom leather—these are just a fraction of the promise of biotechnology. By harnessing the power of life's fundamental building blocks, we can invent new approaches to these under-invested sectors.
Why Climate Biotech? The 75% Problem
The current climate tech landscape suffers from a funding mismatch. Solutions for 25% of overall GHG emissions (primarily energy and transportation), receive the lion's share of investment. The remaining 75%—encompassing diverse sectors like agriculture, materials, and construction—receives just a quarter of climate tech’s private capital.
This is where synthetic biology comes in. Biology is the most advanced technology on earth, and humanity can finally read, write, and edit its code base—affordably and at scale. Programming biology means we build on top of 4.3 billion years of evolutionary R&D to create carbon negative products and solutions that meet the needs of society today.
Sustainable cement, next generation plastics, alternative protein sources, textiles made from spider silk or mushroom leather—these are just a fraction of the promise of biotechnology. By harnessing the power of life's fundamental building blocks, we can invent new approaches to these under-invested sectors.
︎︎︎ Our Brand Story
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Net Zero from Ground Zero
The Juniper genus is diverse: the trees thrive in a wide range of habitats, are amazingly climate resilient, and are renowned for their longevity. We provide founders from around the country with the resources and ecosystem they need to grow climate-forward companies that are built to last, ultimately taking their businesses from 0 to 1 in venture backability.
Net Zero from Ground Zero
The Juniper genus is diverse: the trees thrive in a wide range of habitats, are amazingly climate resilient, and are renowned for their longevity. We provide founders from around the country with the resources and ecosystem they need to grow climate-forward companies that are built to last, ultimately taking their businesses from 0 to 1 in venture backability.
60% of all physical inputs to the global economy can be produced by engineered biology, allowing us to finally kick our petrochemical dependency.
︎︎︎ Meet the Team
Jennifer Kan, PhD
Founding Partner,
Juniper
Jenny is a bioengineer, tech entrepreneur, and investor in more than 40 early-stage deep tech companies. She holds a PhD from Cambridge and worked at Caltech, where she led enzyme engineering projects featured in the 2018 Nobel Prize lecture. She has been named by Forbes as a leading venture capitalist driving investments in synthetic biology.
Michael Luciani
Founding Partner,
Juniper
Michael is a co-founder of the Climate Capital Syndicate and has invested over 100 investments into early stage climate tech startups. Previously Michael was founder and CEO of The Tuesday Company (sold in 2020), which created political organizing software with over 2M users. Prior to The Tuesday Company, Michael worked in policy.
Mackenzie Scurka
Program Director,
Juniper Zero
Mackenzie holds a M.Sc. in Biology from UCLA, where she played a key role building out Nucleate Eco’s Activator program – an accelerator designed to help academic trainees translate their research into biotech and climate tech startups. Prior to graduate school, Mackenzie worked for the American Forest Foundation, lobbying for climate legislation on Capitol Hill. She holds her B.A. from Dartmouth College.
Sponsor the next wave of climate innovators! Juniper Zero is a non-profit. Every dollar donated to the program is matched 4X. To sponsor or donate, please email Program Director Mackenzie Scurka.
©Juniper Zero
