Alinta Furnell

Biotechnologist, founder, innovator.

On a mission to rebuild the world with biology.

What I’m currently up to ——

✦ Directing the iGEM Foundation's venture arm, turning breakthroughs into lasting 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 6000 litres consumed
✦ Featured at SXSW Tech & Innovation Expo and stocked by Ace Hotel, TripAdvisor, Canva, and UNSW