Eric Steen

Yo, so let me tell you about Eric Steen. This guy’s the real deal in biotech. He’s a YC W16 alum, so he jumped into the startup scene when it was just getting hot. Before that, he crushed it in academia, got his PhD from UC Berkeley, working in Jay Keasling’s lab, which is like the Harvard of bioengineering. The dude’s always been into pushing the limits of what biotech can do, especially around sustainable stuff.

He’s now the CEO and co-founder of Lygos, a biotech company that’s all about making eco-friendly materials and ingredients. Think bio-based, sustainable, modern tech that could actually change how industries work, no more bullshit fossil fuels, real clean tech. And get this, he’s been able to raise over $210 million for Lygos from government and big investors. That’s not small potatoes; it shows he’s got serious credibility and a vision that people believe in.

His process’s super telling. He jumped from academia into the trenches of biotech, working at the Joint Bioenergy Institute and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, all about biofuels and green tech. That’s where he really cut his teeth, playing with metabolic engineering and finding ways to make biology do what we want, cleaner, cheaper, better. Basically, he’s been all-in on making biotech a tool for environmental change.

What drives him? Passion for sustainability, no doubt. He’s not just about making money; he genuinely cares about pushing tech forward to save the planet. That’s why he’s so committed to this stuff, he’s not in it to get rich quick, he’s in it to make a difference. And he’s doing it. His story says a lot about what it means to start something, it’s about blending deep science with real-world impact, taking risks, and believing in a future where biotech leads the charge.

So yeah, Eric Steen isn’t just some scientist or entrepreneur. He’s a visionary who’s turned his academic chops and startup hustle into a movement that could reshape industries. That’s why he’s important, he’s the guy you wanna watch if you care about tech, startups, and saving the planet.