Climate change, wildfires ... the munchies?
Silicon Valley startups are trying to solve large-scale problems as well as ones that are a little closer to home — and everything in between.
Here are some of the most intriguing companies that debuted in 2021:
Ebb Carbon Inc., San Carlos: As the oceans absorb some of the growing amount of carbon in the atmosphere, they are becoming increasingly acidic, a big problem for many marine species, including coral and plankton. Ebb Carbon has designed an electrochemical process that could offer hope on both fronts, deacidifying the oceans while at the same time allowing them to absorb more carbon from the air. The startup is hoping to make money by selling carbon removal credits to companies. It's already named one big customer — Stripe Inc.
Foodcast Inc. (dba Food Rocket), Palo Alto: Hankering for a bag of Fritos, but don't want to leave your home? This startup promises to get you your snack fix within 15 minutes. Better yet, it doesn't charge a delivery fee or require a minimum order size. For now, though, you have to live in San Francisco; Food Rocket only delivers in the City by the Bay from small warehouse stores located there. Customers can also shop in the stores or pick up orders from them.
Theai Inc. (dba Inworld AI), Mountain View: Non-player characters abound in games, and this company is betting they're going to be a big presence in the so-called metaverse being built by Facebook Inc.'s parent company and other businesses. InWorld's software helps companies create virtual people for games or virtual environments, whether to simply populate such worlds or to act as the businesses' intelligent, human-like agents.
Rain Industries Inc., Palo Alto: As wildfires continue to threaten California communities, many companies are using technology to try to solve the problem. Rain Industries has a unique approach, outfitting autonomous flying drones to seek out nascent wildfires and drop balls of fire retardant on top of them.
Ranga Media Inc. (dba Schmooze Dating), Palo Alto: People seeking true love online may feel like they've tried every dating service around. But Schmooze Dating offers a different approach, one that helps people find matches based on their senses of humor rather than their physical looks. Rather than swiping left or right on photos, users find potential matches by "schmoozing" or "snoozing" humorous memes.
