In this edition of our 25th Anniversary interview series, Yuki discusses Tosoh’s approach to evaluating hard tech startups: it’s not only about technical excellence and IP, but also about building trust-based relationships and aligning with a shared roadmap for societal impact. By working closely with partners like Pangaea Ventures, Tosoh brings financial support, technical expertise, and manufacturing muscle to those innovations with real-world promise.

For Soichi Ueki, strategic investments, bold R&D, and partnership with startups are not just responses to technological uncertainty, they’re part of a broader vision to rapidly transition from a process-driven enterprise to a market leader in high-value, sustainable materials.

This week’s 25th anniversary interview spotlights Doug Wiggin’s honest reflections on startup realities past and present. Funding environments may be tougher today, but Doug’s core advice remains evergreen: prove your technology meets a real business need, get early feedback, and don’t be afraid to change course.

In the latest edition of Pangaea’s 25th Anniversary interview series, Ardent CEO Erica Nemser shares how leadership, business execution, and intentional culture transform breakthrough science into real-world impact, underscoring why people and partnership are key to scaling hard tech innovation.

In the second instalment of our 25th anniversary series, Glenn Bindley, President & CEO at past Pangaea portfolio company Redlen Technologies, shares insights from his extensive journey scaling hard tech solutions.

In the first edition of Pangaea’s 25th Anniversary interview series, Tony Sun from GC Ventures shines light on the unique value VC brings to strategic LPs, not just in terms of capital, but critical market connections and adoption pathways that help startups grow.

As we continue to commemorate our 25 years in Hard Tech, join us for weekly interviews with past and current LPs and portfolio company CEOs starting Tuesday October 28, on the Pangaea blog. With contributions from Tony Sun from GC Ventures, Glenn Bindley of Redlen Technologies, Soichi Ueki of JX Advanced Metals, along with other past and present CEOs and LPs, who will share their unique perspectives and stories.

The advanced robotics market is booming and is forecasted to nearly double from $108 billion in 2025 to $215 billion by 2030. With rapid advances in hardware, computing power, AI integration, and software innovation, robotics is reshaping sectors from manufacturing and logistics to healthcare and agriculture. For investors looking to engage with this next wave of hard tech innovation, the potential seems enormous.

As the pace and complexity of global change increases, industries must look beyond marginal gains to truly transformative solutions. The world demands bold, science-driven advances that reshape entire industries from the ground up. Not baby steps. That’s where hard tech stands apart.

Japan stands as a global powerhouse in hard tech innovation, seamlessly blending a rich legacy of precision engineering with an unwavering drive for technological advancement.

The global data center market is experiencing explosive growth, fueled by digital transformation, AI, and the proliferation of connected devices. In 2024, the market stood at $242B and is projected to reach $584B by 2032. The data center cooling segment is growing even faster at a 16.4% CAGR, expected to reach $44B by 2030.

With data centers projected to consume nearly 1,000 TWh of electricity by 2030, and today’s high-powered chips already straining traditional air cooling methods, there is a massive opportunity for breakthrough hard tech innovation.

AI is not just a tool for the digital world, it’s a catalyst for the next era of physical, science-driven innovation. The future of industry belongs to those who can bridge the gap.

What can 25 years of hard tech investing tell us about the next 25? Join Pangaea’s co-founders, Chris Erickson and Purnesh Seegopaul for a live fireside chat on Wednesday, June 25, at 11am PT / 2pm ET to find out. 

The U.S. semiconductor industry stands at a critical crossroads. As domestic chip manufacturing capacity surges, driven by historic investments and policy support, an urgent and under-appreciated challenge is coming into focus: a looming gap in the supply of essential chemicals and materials needed to make advanced semiconductors.

A new wave of advanced materials and chemistries is emerging, promising to address challenges related to cost, performance, safety, and sustainability.

As demand for electric vehicles (EVs), portable electronics, and grid-scale energy storage grows, limitations of traditional lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have begun to surface. In Part 1 of our two-part look at next-generation battery materials, we explore the forces influencing innovation in the category.

As we explored in Part 1, the semiconductor industry faces unprecedented challenges in meeting AI's computational demands. From novel manufacturing approaches to revolutionary thermal management solutions, explore how the industry is adapting to power the next generation of AI computing.

As AI transforms our world, demand for more powerful computing is growing at an unprecedented rate. The GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) market is expected to surge from $44 billion in 2024 to $274 billion by 2029 – a growth trajectory that outpaces nearly every other semiconductor sector.

We are excited to announce  Aspect Biosystems has secured US$115 million Series B financing led by Dimension to advance their groundbreaking work in bioprinted tissue therapeutics.