Alinta Furnell

Biotechnologist, founder, innovator.

On a mission to rebuild the world with biology.

What I’m currently up to ——

✦ Building the bioeconomy & turning bioinnovation into tangible impact @ iGEM Foundation • Director of Innovation

✦ Researching how DeepTech ventures are built and scaled @ University of Sydney • PhD

What I’ve built ——

✧ DeepTech Founder • Built technologies across rapid diagnostics, biomanufacturing hardware, and solid-state batteries

✧ Scientific Researcher • Discovered a new species of Antarctic fungi; Founded a biomaterials discovery lab at UNSW

Talks ——

✧ SXSW, TEDx, EXPO 2025, SynBioBeta

Awards ——

✧ 776 Fellow, Vogue Future Innovator, Tech23

Bringing back the biomimicry blueprint.

Hands down, my all-time favourite animal is the naked mole rat. Ugliness aside, the naked mole rat is a biological outlier that’s not only acid proof, but also resistant to cancer. This is just a glimpse of what biology is capable of when pushed to its limits.

My talk Bringing Back the Biomimicry Blueprint explores how biotechnologists can learn from natural systems to design new materials, technologies, and ultimately, a better future.

TEDxSydney Youth, 2024

Building DeepTech ventures at the frontier of biology.

I have built, scaled, and launched DeepTech ventures across rapid diagnostics, analytical hardware, and solid-state batteries.

Most recently, I founded a biomaterials discovery lab at UNSW to develop bio-based alternatives to petrochemical plastics in industrial applications.

During this time, we developed a bio-based electrolyte system and spun it out into a venture to double the energy density of batteries while reducing fire risk to zero.

Breaking the ice on fungal dark matter.

I discovered a new species of fungi from Antarctica - say hello to Penicillium psychrofluorescens.

Despite fungi being one of the most diverse kingdoms of life, we’ve only identified around 2% of what’s predicted to exist.

My research focused on “fungal dark matter” in Antarctica - the coldest, windiest, and driest environment on Earth. I studied traits that allow life to survive in extreme conditions, and how these can be translated into new technologies.

Brewing without fermentation, from molecule to market.

Create > consume? Why not both.

Most non-alcoholic beers still contain up to 0.5% ABV and comparable levels of acetaldehyde - the compound responsible for hangovers.

I co-founded sörzero, a profitable non-alcoholic beer brand that developed a molecular brewing method to bypass fermentation entirely.

✧ The only true 0.00% ABV non-alcoholic beer in Australia & the US
✧ One of the lowest-calorie beers globally - 17.6 calories per can (vs. 165 calories for a standard beer)

✦ Concept to market in 120 days - 80% faster than the industry average of two years
✦ Reached profitability in under 150 days - 15,000+ cans sold & over 2 million millilitres consumed
✦ Featured at SXSW Tech & Innovation Expo and stocked by Ace Hotel, TripAdvisor, Canva, and UNSW

World Expo of Synthetic Biology

October, 2025
Paris, France
Cartier Women's Pavilion @ EXPO 2025

June, 2025
Osaka, Japan
EXPO 2025

June, 2025
Osaka, Japan
Emerging Leaders in Clean Energy

June, 2025
Shanghai, China
776 Foundation Summit

April, 2025
Austin, Texas
Young Climate Prize

February, 2025
The World Around
Vogue - Future Innovators

December, 2024
Vogue
TEDxSydney

August, 2024
Sydney, Australia
SynBioBeta

May, 2024
San Jose, United States
Australian ClimateTech Festival

December, 2023
Sydney, Australia
iGEM Grand Jamboree

October, 2023
Paris, France
SXSW

October, 2023
Sydney, Australia
Synbiote @ SXSW

October, 2023
Sydney, Australia
iGEM Startup Showcase

October, 2022
Paris, France
40 Under 40 Most Influential Asian-Australian Awards

August, 2022
Sydney, Australia