PRESS RELEASE: MIT Solve Announces Four New Solve Innovation Future Investments in Early-Stage Social Entrepreneurs

New investments include Solver teams eggXYt, CENTURY Tech, Algramo, and Someone Somewhere. MIT Solve’s philanthropic vehicle is held as a Donor-Advised Fund at ImpactAssets and operates as a working model for catalytic capital

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 4, 2021—MIT Solve today announced the latest round of investment recommendations by Solve Innovation Future, its philanthropic venture vehicle. Launched in 2019, Solve Innovation Future uses “founder-friendly” debt, equity, and alternative structures to invest in Solver teams—entrepreneurs driving social and environmental impact, selected annually through Solve’s open innovation Global Challenges. Solve Innovation Future is held as a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) managed by ImpactAssets, with MIT Solve serving as the donor-advisor, with returns re-invested in future Solver teams.

“Impact-focused entrepreneurs are clamoring for more capital to scale faster—but impact-aligned venture capital hasn't kept up,” said Casey van der Stricht, Principal, Solve Innovation Future. “At the same time, there is a lot of money trapped in Donor-Advised Funds that is sitting idle. Solve Innovation Future allows disruptive philanthropists to deploy capital to diverse social innovators. Our new investments will accelerate our Solver teams’ growth and increase their impact.”

Solve Innovation Future’s new investee Solver teams will be featured during Virtual Solve at MIT on May 4. The investments are as follows: 

eggXYt, Sustainable Food Systems Solver 

• Headquarters: Jerusalem, Israel 

• Led by: Yehuda Elram, Co-Founder and CEO and Professor Daniel Offen, Co-Founder and CSO

• SAFE investment ahead of planned Series A round

• eggXYt’s mission is to enable a sustainable future in the livestock industry. eggXYt’s CRISPR based technology allows for non-invasive pre-incubation sex detection in chicken eggs—saving 4 billion male chicks from being unnecessarily hatched and disposed of each year, saving the industry billions of dollars and adding 4 billion eggs to the global supply. eggXYt also recently opened its new animal health unit, whose first product is resistance to Avian Influenza Virus in poultry.

CENTURY Tech, Teachers & Educators Solver 

• Headquarters: London, UK 

• Led by: Priya Lakhani, Founder and CEO 

• Equity investment as part of a $2 million Series A round 

• CENTURY Tech’s AI-based platform personalizes learning to overcome the traditional one-size-fits-all model of education. Artificially intelligent algorithms identify knowledge gaps, understand how students learn, and customize the most effective learning pathway for each student.

Algramo, Circular Economy Solver 

• Headquarters: Santiago, Chile

• Led by: Jose Manuel Moller, Founder and CEO 

• Algramo is a Chilean startup born in 2013 that began working along family-owned neighborhood stores, distributing everyday products in vending machines and reusable packaging. This system allowed people to purchase products ‘by the gram’- the literal translation of Algramo, and enables low-resource families to buy in small quantities and pay about 40% less for life’s essentials. Algramo has become a real-world example of a viable circular economy business model with global potential.

Someone Somewhere, Good Jobs & Inclusive Entrepreneurship Solver 

• Headquarters: Mexico City, Mexico 

• Led by: Antonio Nuno, Co-Founder & CEO and Fátima Álvarez, Co-Founder & Chief Impact Officer

• SAFE investment ahead of planned Series A round

• Someone Somewhere allows artisans to increase their monthly income by 300 percent by tying their crafts to high value products, solid sales channels, and a well recognized brand. Their in-house team learns each artisans technique and uses market data and trends to design marketable products together with the artisans. 

Solve Innovation Future raises funds over time from philanthropic donors through tax-deductible gifts to MIT. Held as a Donor-Advised Fund at ImpactAssets with MIT acting as the donor-advisor, it then invests these funds into Solver teams that have been selected as part of Solve’s Global Challenges. Any returns are reinvested in future Solver teams, creating a renewable philanthropic vehicle for donors, and a pay-it-forward mechanism for entrepreneurs. If you are interested in joining Solve Innovation Future as a donor, please find more information here. 

About MIT Solve: 

Solve is an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a mission to solve world challenges. Solve is a marketplace for social impact innovation. Through open innovation Challenges, Solve finds incredible tech-based social entrepreneurs all around the world. Solve then brings together MIT’s innovation ecosystem and a community of Members to fund and support these entrepreneurs to help them drive lasting, transformational impact. Join Solve on this journey at solve.mit.edu.

Information concerning the decision by SIF to invest or not invest in a Solver team is not intended to be a recommendation that any other person invest or not invest.  If you are considering an investment in any entity, the decision whether to invest should be made based on your own analysis of the investment and your financial goals.