This week I spoke with Ben Pruden, Head of Go-To-Market at Wherobots, the Spatial Intelligence Cloud built by the original creators of Apache Sedona. Ben walked me through how Wherobots is helping climate companies move faster with data, why open source matters, and how his team is reshaping how we understand and interact with data about the physical world. “If you want a concrete visual, Wherobots is a bridge.”

This week, I spoke with Jeanine Ash, biogeochemist, carbon storage expert, climate optimist and VP of Carbon Storage at Capture6. Her path to climate work was anything but straight—and all the richer for it. Her journey spans decades of academic research across oceans and continents, uncovering the deep-time stories written in Earth’s sediments. She is now turning that knowledge into climate tech impact—safely storing CO₂ in global pilot projects.

This week, I spoke with Andrés RM Velarde, Director of The Knowledge Society (TKS) . We discussed how we are all agents of change. Andrés shared how his journey, from working on climate tech innovations to shaping the next generation of climate builders, was driven by a deep sense of urgency and responsibility.

This week, I spoke with 9Zero member Marco Hartmann, who leads sourcing and partnerships at Climeworks - pioneers in direct air capture (DAC) technology. We talked about his journey from Switzerland to San Francisco, how studying natural sciences turned into a passion for systems change, and what it’s like to help shape one of the world’s most dynamic climate markets.

This week, I spoke with 9Zero Member Dr. Lisa Micheli, a wildfire expert and longtime leader in conservation and climate resilience. We discussed her journey from theoretical physics to climate science, her work in wildfire and watershed resilience, and how AI and machine learning are transforming climate risk analysis.

This week, I spoke with Jonathan Azoff, Co-Founder and General Partner of SNØCAP founder & consultan. We discussed about scaling impact-driven businesses, the power of community, and the untapped potential in waste innovation.

We also discussed what makes 9Zero’s Climate Hub such a unique space for collaboration—spoiler alert: it involves the cold brew tower.

This week, I spoke with Andrew Koch, Akcelerate Consulting founder & consultant, boosting team and manager performance via customized training sessions and workshops. We discussed about his journey from engineering to consulting in climate.

I spoke with Esther Morales, Executive Director at Clean Energy Leadership Institute. CELI is building a multiracial, diverse, and inclusive community of changemakers working across sectors and disciplines to lead an equitable, decarbonized, and resilient energy ecosystem. We discussed CELI’s strategy and building confidence in leadership within climate.

I spoke with Marie Schildt, an investor at Unruly Capital, a VC with a desire to shape the world for the better by focusing on meaningful companies. We discussed Unruly’s strategy, Marie’s path to climate, and how investing styles differ between cultures.

This week, I spoke with Eliza Nemser, the Executive Director and Co-Founder at Climate Changemakers, an online climate action hub equipping thousands of changemakers to effectively advocate for policies at all levels of government. We discussed issue-motivated politics, the missing middle, and the difference just one hour of action can make.

This week, I spoke with Claire Veuthey, the Principal and Founder of Rizoma, a boutique sell-side advisor for climate companies providing specialized M&A advisory and capital raise services from a sustainability perspective. She reflected on the broadening of the sustainability industry, illuminated what factors determine the right time for a climate company to exit, and broke down a supposed knowledge barrier.

I sat down with Lakshmi Reddy and Emin Israfil, the COO and CEO of Rubbish, a company building AI-powered waste characterization and management tools to create cleaner and healthier communities. We explored their paths into climate tech, how trash can be fun, and the company’s surprising origin story.

This week, I spoke to Russell Sprole, founder and managing partner of Virta Ventures, an early stage fund backing entrepreneurs and companies building sustainable businesses. We discussed equity-light climate tech, why founders can fail with great product, and how AI could set back our climate progress.

This week’s Member Spotlight is on Marko Lehtimäki, Co-Founder and CTO of Verge Motorcycles. We discussed how form can follow function, what gets people all-in on EVs, and how his bikes actually get better over time.

I interviewed Phil Dillard, founder and CEO of Thruline Networks and creator of Wisdom Wednesday. He discussed how to bring value, his definition of success, and what makes a great entrepreneur.

I sat down with Aric Saunders, founder of Mana Energy and longtime member of the renewable energy industry. We discussed equitable energy, the talent pool in climate tech, and how the field has changed.

For the second of our two-part series on Wherobots, I interviewed Maxime Petazzoni, the company’s Head of Engineering. We discussed the Wherobots company culture, the growing attainability of climate neutrality, and the role of software in climate innovation. 

I sat down with Jia Yu, the co-founder of Wherobots, one of 9Zero’s most recent partnerships. We explored a gap in the market, the importance of accessibility, and the relationship between open-source technology and climate tech.

This week, I spoke to Ravi Mikkelsen, co-founder and CEO of Atmos Financial. We discussed banking’s connection to fossil fuel extraction, Ravi’s near 25 years of experience in the industry, and the line of hope and fear that he walks today.

I sat down with Kieran White and Andrew Porter of Curo, the company introducing the world to the Virtual Charging Depot. We are thrilled to have Kieran and Andrew as two of our first founders at 9Zero, and to share more about their work and climate impact in the interview below.