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Introducing our Rising Stars of 2023! From space tech to generative AI, discover the startup founders whose ideas have world-changing potential.
Our Rising Stars of 2023 are leading trailblazing startups across four continents. They’re pioneering in fields including biotech, ecommerce, generative AI, space tech, and cocoa-free chocolate, and have raised more than $300m between them.
Each year, we select our Rising Stars – early-stage startup founders whose ideas have world-changing potential – based on nominations from our global network of top founders and investors.
Many of them go on to achieve unicorn status or IPO at record-breaking valuations – previous Rising Stars tipped for success include Demis Hassabis (Deepmind), Luis von Ahn (Duolingo), Payal Kadakia (ClassPass), Taavet Hinrikus (Wise), and Whitney Wolfe Herd (Bumble).
This year, the founders of these emerging disruptor brands pitched their new ventures at our flagship forums, Founders Forum, FF Europe, and FF Asia, sharing their disruptive ideas and unique visions for the future.
Discover our Rising Stars of 2023 and learn more about them by clicking the links below.
Bianca Cefalo, Space DOTS
A London-based space tech startup, Bianca Cefalo’s Space DOTS is transforming the traditional approach to testing for space applications to make on-orbit qualification of materials faster, cheaper, and simpler.
Christian Schlatzer, YEARS
Christian Schlatzer is on a mission to make health measurable and healthspan optimisation real. His new longevity platform, YEARS, uses state-of-the-art technology and scientific findings to prevent health issues before they occur.
Flo Crivello, Lindy
Flo Crivello has already raised $50m to build Lindy, a new personal AI assistant tailored to your daily work tasks, from calendaring to emailing to note taking.
Gabriel Hubert, Dust
Gabriel Hubert’s Dust allows companies to deploy LLM applications in a safe and usable way using their internal data.
Grzegorz Marecki, Continuum Industries
Grzegorz Marecki’s Continuum Industries is accelerating infrastructure projects with AI. His solution helps organisations visualise, analyse, and assess routing options for power lines, cables, and pipelines, cutting project planning time from 12 months to eight weeks.
Jan-Hendrik Boelens, Alpine Eagle
The European defence and security industry is stuck with outdated legacy systems and countries are at risk of losing technological sovereignty. Jan-Hendrik Boelens’s Alpine Eagle aims to fix this problem by developing software-defined solutions for the defence and security market.
Josep Barberà, 011h
Typical construction projects can take more than three years from design to construction completion. By standardising and digitising the construction process, Josep Barberà’s 011h can help build low-carbon, residential buildings out of wood with a 50% time reduction.
Kiren Tanna, Una Brands
With Una Brands, Kiren Tanna is building a Unilever for the online world – buying and building brands across the Asia-Pacific – and he’s already raised $100m and acquired more than 20 online-only brands.
Kylan Gibbs, Inworld.ai
Kylan Gibbs’ Inworld is bringing video game characters to life with AI and raised $50m at a $500m valuation in August this year.
Nick Benson, Atelier
Nick Benson’s Atelier is an all-in-one product development and manufacturing platform for beauty, health, and wellness brands, helping brands scale from 1,000 to over 1 million units fast.
Ryan Manafe, Dagangan
Ryan Manafe’s Dagangan is accelerating Indonesia’s rural economy, helping brands enter rural markets and providing communities with easier access to daily necessities at a lower cost.
Sara Marquart, Planet A Foods
Sara Marquart’s Planet A Foods is making chocolate sustainable with its coca-free alternative, ChoViva, which is 10x more sustainable and 20% cheaper than conventional chocolate.
Stef van Grieken, Cradle
A former product lead at Google Brain and Google X, Stef van Grieken started Cradle to help scientists engineer better proteins in record time with generative AI.
Think you have what it takes to be our next rising star? Apply here.
