Benjamin Alva is Protecting Coral Reefs from Human Impacts

Hi, climate leaders 👋 

Welcome back to another issue of The Climate Scout!

Today at a glance:

• Introducing Azul Bio

• Detailing their business model, tech, traction and team

• Why do we need this now?

• What is the climate impact?

• How you can support them!

-  Angelica 💜

Featured Startup: Azul Bio

Today's climate startup is Azul Bio. Climate change and pollution are causing the death of half of the coral reefs, and it is predicted that 90% will be destroyed by 2050. Azul Bio has developed probiotic treatments that can protect coral reefs from human activities. These probiotics are the most effective and efficient solution for companies, governments, and NGOs that rely on coral ecosystems.

Azul Bio Fast Facts

Headquarters

NYC

Technology

Azul Bio has created a probiotic that helps coral withstand higher temperatures. This probiotic is easier to use than traditional methods of restoring coral because it only involves microbes. The probiotics are placed in a material that breaks down and releases them when it touches coral. They can be made in large quantities and spread to nurseries or reefs at a lower cost than traditional restoration methods.

Business Model

There are over 100 countries and 1000’s of resorts that derive direct revenue from coral reefs, where the top 5% of coral reefs generate more than $356k/hectare/year in tourism value. Azul Bio is charging $40k/hectare (or $4/m2) for their heat resistance coral probiotic. Servicing just 5% of coral reefs (1,421,500 hectares) represents a $57B market.

Market Opportunity

Azul Bio has competitors like Coral Vita, Intellireefs, Coral Gardeners, Reefvitalize, Bluumbio, and SeedHealth. But unlike these companies, Azul Bio uses new methods and machine learning to culture 70% of marine microbes, while traditional methods only culture 3%. This helps Azul Bio create scalable solutions from ocean biodiversity. However, there are risks involved in getting a probiotic to mass production, as it needs to be tested in the lab and in field pilots. Despite this, Azul Bio offers a probiotic development service to acquire customers and fund their research and development.

Traction

• Azul Bio has an array of angel investors and investment from the Ocean Impact Organization (OIO).

• Accelerators: Mass Challenge and the OIO Accelerator Program

• Signed 5 MOUs/LOIs with governments and coral restoration NGOs for probiotic development services that range from $150k to $250k

• In discussions with 9 other nations, NGOs, and companies for similar contracts

Founders

Benjamin Alva: Founder & CEO

• PhD in Bioengineering from CalTech

• Previously a Research Collaborator at NASA and the Co-founder and CTO of Maverick Bioworks a biofoundry using synthetic biology and our automated directed evolution platform to develop made-to-order enzymes and microorganisms to replace traditional chemical processes and address environmental challenges

Why Now?

Half of the world's coral reefs are already dead, and it is predicted that 90% will die by 2050. This will result in a loss of $428 billion per year for the global economy by 2030. However, if we focus on restoring marine life and improving climate resilience, we can avoid this economic loss. The demand for scalable marine restoration is high, and this presents an opportunity for market-driven solutions.

Climate Impact

Using probiotics to strengthen coral against the effects of climate change can help protect coral ecosystems. Currently, half of all reefs are already dead, and by 2050, 90% will be dead. By making coral more resilient, we can have healthier reefs that act as important carbon sinks, helping to reduce global carbon levels. Probiotics also help to protect corals from damage and maintain the overall health of coral reefs. These ecosystems are not only important for preventing coastal erosion and property damage from storms, but they also support a quarter of all ocean species.

Support Azul Bio

• Investors - Azul is currently raising a Pre-Seed Round and will be raising a Seed round in December

Cool Tools

• Fractional Climate - Find fractional climate talent for your company, fast & free 

• Net Zero Insights - Market Intelligence on Climate Tech Startups

• Moonarch - Meet investors for your startup for free

• Remote Climate Jobs - Get remote jobs delivered to your inbox every Wednesday

• Climate Talent - Transforming the environment by getting more talent working on the planet

*This section is a mix of paid sponsorships and cool things we use, discovered or built for you.

How The Climate Scout Can Help You

🚀 Want to support us? Sponsor an issue and get your mission in front of thousands of climate founders, investors, professionals and enthusiasts.

💼 Hiring? I partner with climate companies to help them make key hires at a fraction of the cost of a recruiting agency. Reach out here.

💪 Are you an early stage climate founder? Reach me here for a free feature on The Climate Scout!