Visionary
Leaders

Diversity of Thought

We’re bringing together the brightest minds in data science and food science to replace animals with more efficient ways of transforming plants into the foods we love. Using sophisticated data science and machine learning methods, we are unlocking the entire plant kingdom, reaching the pinnacle of taste, texture, and nutrition.

Range of Experiences

Our team marries years of experience in inventing and productionizing cutting-edge machine learning and data science tools at companies like Google and SpaceX with operational excellence leading plant-based food companies from the early R&D stage to billion dollar valuations like Impossible Foods and JUST.

Climax Foods is backed by mission-aligned investors who bring strategic value allowing us to scale quickly to meet the urgent need for a more sustainable and safe food system, without sacrificing the culturally rich experience of delicious food.

// CORE TEAM

Driven By Purpose

is an astrophysicist passionate about making Earth a better place. After directing UC Berkeley’s Center for Cosmological Physics together with two Nobel laureates, Oliver led Data Science at Google and Impossible Foods. His lifelong love of food is complemented by a passion for outdoor adventures.

 

Has had previous infancy stage VC-backed leadership roles at New Age Eats, Meati, and Tovala and extensive prior general/brand management on $1B+ at Kraft Heinz Co. in marketing and innovation at Ocean Spray. Former marketing consultant of global large scale post-M&A new market launch/integrations in alcohol.

Received her PhD in Biophysics at Imperial College London. She’s worked in the fields of soft matter physics. Previously, Sowmya worked as scientist at Impossible Foods, Beyond Meat, and Nanyang Technological University Singapore.

Has worked in the cheese industry for the last 12 years, overseeing R&D and Plant Operations. She has an M.S. in Dairy, Food Sciences and Processes, and is excited to use her expertise to scale development and production of plant-based fermented foods.

 

Received his PhD in Chemical Engineering at Northwestern. He’s worked in the fields of microbial fermentation, systems biology, and metabolomics. Previously, Karthik worked as postdoc at ETH Zurich, a SWE at Emerald Cloud Lab, and authored After Meat, arguing that the inefficiency of animals in food production means inevitable replacement.

Career in food science began as an affinity for tinkering in product development and design in the kitchen. Her background in environmental science from The Ohio State University and University of California, Davis has informed her research to discover sustainable food solutions.

Earned his PhD in plant biology from UC Berkeley where he studied the fundamentals of photosynthesis. Driven by the climate emergency, Daniel brings his prior experiences as a farmer, cook, and educator to the critical task of reducing the climate impact of animal agriculture.

Has worked for 10 years with Californian artisan cheese producers. She served as Education Chair with the California Artisan Cheese Guild, and developed programs at The Cheese School in San Francisco.

Worked in food operations for more than a decade. After co-founding dessert startup Petit Pot and consulting with food CEOs, he is excited to apply his operational and supply chain experience to bring sustainable plant-based products to market. He holds a Masters in Food Science & Technology.

// ADVISORY TEAM

Mission-Aligned & Experienced

Is the Founder and CEO of La Tourangelle, a leading global specialty food maker. Over 20 years ago, Matthieu moved from France to California to start his entrepreneurship career in natural food.

PhD, is an expert in olfaction psychophysics, machine learning, and neuroinformatics — the development of tools to facilitate the analysis of data for neuroscience. He investigates how smell perception, learning and behavior are represented in the brain. He is a professor at Arizona State University.

Earned her PhD in Food Science from the Technical University of Munich, Germany. She investigated properties of dairy and egg protein, before developing a passion for finding the plant-based alternatives. Previously, she led Protein Functionality research at JUST.

Is a General Partner with Abstract Ventures. Alex co-founded two companies: Intellitoys, an interactive children’s toy, and SkillSlate, a labor marketplace that was acquired by TaskRabbit. He also led a team of trading strategists at Bridgewater Associates.

Is the founder of InnoVestNutrition. He has more than 30 years of international experience in the food ingredients industry, working for Hoechst, Nutrinova, and Doehler. He has his PhD in Food Science.

Is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He uses experimental and computational tools to understand and model advanced colloidal, polymeric, and self-assembled materials.

Is a food-tech leader, founder of Vegan Women Summit (VWS), and author of The Future of Food is Female.  She has built her career as an internationally-recognized community relations leader.

Is a Professor in Food Science at the University of Massachusetts.  He specializes in the areas of food biopolymers and colloids, and in particular on the development of food-based structured delivery systems.

 is an Executive leader and strategic CFO with broad, hands-on operational experience in two global high growth consumer products companies.