Los Angeles, CA — Larta Institute, based in Los Angeles, advances science and technology solutions from discovery to real-world deployment in communities. Today, the nonprofit organization announced its 2026 Venture Fellows cohort. As climate volatility becomes a persistent structural challenge, the program supports essential resilience solutions moving from the laboratory to the frontlines.
Now in its fourth year, the Venture Fellows program welcomes 17 ventures from across the country developing practical technologies at the intersection of urban resilience and resource innovation. Each company brings a clear pathway for advancing solutions in Los Angeles and other climate-exposed regions, strengthening community readiness in the face of accelerating environmental risk.
Selected for their potential to scale beyond a single community, this year’s cohort addresses critical gaps in urban infrastructure and resource security:
Weather-Resilient Urban Infrastructure
- Amatec, developing low-carbon alternative to concrete
- Athena Intelligence, translating terrain-based environmental data into decision-ready wildfire risk profiles
- Sobek, advancing stormwater retrofits that reduce erosion and nutrient pollution while restoring stream environments
Reliable & Equitable Energy Systems
- BASEstud.io, transforming streetlights into climate-ready energy networks
- Energy Road, redefining how we power communities by converting vehicle traffic into renewable electricity
- Monza Tech, a read‑only AI platform that helps utilities predict failure risk and cascading outages using existing operational data
- Roll-A-Rack, developing a land-use solar racking for efficiency, adaptability, and resilience
Clean Air, Safe Water, & Sustainable Food
- Carbix Corporation, transforming CO₂ emissions into building materials
- CarBonne, scaling carbon removal for everyday transportation
- Eco Remediation Technologies, deploying fungi-powered ecological remediation systems that restore pollution-impacted land across LA County
- Emissol, eliminating toxic pollution from fossil fuel engines
- Ensense AI, a vehicle-mounted sensing platform making environmental and public safety data universally accessible and actionable
- FoodprintAI, bringing transparency to the carbon cost of food
- Pani Clean, Inc., converting nitrate pollution in wastewater into valuable ammonia
- Pikare SkySource, generating clean drinking water and energy platforms for resilient communities and industries
- Nutraberry, converting agricultural byproducts into functional ingredients
- Sujen International LLC., unlocking underutilized airflow in dense urban environments
A Proven Model for Community Impact
The 2026 cohort joins a program with a strong track record of supporting early-stage companies at the deployment threshold. Across all prior cohorts, Venture Fellows have achieved:
- Significant Funding: Over $159.9M in non-dilutive funding and $132.8M in dilutive capital raised and secured to date.
- Job Creation: More than 144 jobs preserved and created.
- Commitment to Equity: In 2025, 40% of enterprises were led by women and 50% were led by diverse founders.
“Innovation alone is not enough; it requires an ecosystem of business and technical experts, and above all, deployment partners to translate a breakthrough into a community benefit,” said Rohit Shukla, Founder & CEO of Larta Institute. “This cohort will receive the high-touch, hands-on commercialization support that has been Larta’s hallmark for 32 years. But more importantly, through our newly launched Larta Impact Fund, we are providing the catalytic, patient capital necessary to bridge the gap between pilot and scale. We are not just supporting companies – we are investing in the long-term resilience of communities where these technologies are designed to serve.”
Program Support & Partners
Fellows receive targeted commercialization guidance from Larta’s network of Principal Advisors, assistance navigating regulatory pathways, and access to the Ecosystem Action Network (EAN) connecting them with public-sector partners and investors.
The 2026 program is made possible by Wells Fargo, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP), Edison International, and SoCalGas.
To learn more about the 2026 cohort, visit: Larta.org/Venture-Fellows.
About Larta Institute
Larta Institute is a Los Angeles–based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that builds translation infrastructure to move science- and technology-based solutions from discovery into real-world deployment for a sustainable planet. Since 1993, Larta has supported more than 7,000 innovators developing solutions that create economic opportunity and community impact. Learn more at Larta.org.
For media inquiries, contact:
Ilaria Ghelardoni
Office of Brand, Marketing, & Communications
BMC@larta.org