Bryce Meredig (CitrineIO): AI+Science Schmidt Fellows Speaker Series

Organized by the University of Chicago’s Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Postdoctoral Fellowship Program.

Agenda
4:00pm – 4:45pm:  Presentation
4:45pm – 5:00pm:  Q&A
5:00pm – 5:30pm: Reception

Meeting location
William Eckhardt Research Center. Room 401
5640 S Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637
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Abstract: Over the past decade, venture capital (VC) firms have begun investing heavily in deeptech startups tackling global challenges such as decarbonization with high-risk, high-reward research. According to a report from the Boston Consulting Group[1], as of late 2023, deeptech accounts for 20% of all VC investment, and delivers financial returns on par with traditional VC funds. These developments are great news for aspiring entrepreneurs in academia, as university researchers are well-positioned to launch deeptech ventures.

In this talk, I will discuss my own deeptech startup journey as founding CEO and later Chief Science Officer of Citrine Informatics, a leading provider of AI for the materials industry. I will cover how the founding team came together, how we iterated toward product-market fit, and how Citrine evolved from a small startup to an established, growth-stage software company. I will also describe some key business and leadership learnings gained as a scientific entrepreneur along the path from a Ph.D. to an MBA to launching a rapidly growing Silicon Valley startup.

[1] JF Bobier, AD Coulin, C Morez, G Emerson, K Wagle, and A Gourévitch,“An Investor’s Guide to Deep Tech,” bcg.com/publications/2023/deep-tech-investing, Nov 2023.

Bio: Dr. Bryce Meredig is a founder, independent R&D consultant, deeptech startup mentor, and Northwestern faculty member whose publications span AI, data, simulations, and automation in materials science. On the business side, he is interested in the systematic study and improvement of technical leadership, as well as how to optimize the success probability of deeptech ventures solving important societal problems.

Dr. Meredig has extensive experience as an entrepreneur. He co-founded Citrine Informatics in 2013, serving as CEO and later Chief Science Officer, helping to grow the company over nearly a decade into a leading provider of enterprise materials informatics software. Today, he enjoys serving as a mentor for the next generation of deeptech founders.

Parking
Campus North Parking
5505 S Ellis Ave
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