DeepTech Innovator with material of the future announced as winner

DeepTech innovator, Tandem Repeat, a US startup that aims to redefine the textiles industry with an innovative new bio-manufactured material is the winner of the 2026 Future of Capitalism Competition.

Inspired by squids, they have developed a revolutionary new high-performance, completely natural fibre, Squitex, that’s both sustainable and cost-effective.

Plant molecular farming offers an alternative to traditional animal-sourced materials, allowing for more cost-effective production with fewer environmental impacts. 

 Co-founder Melik Demirel

The Future of Capitalism Competition, now in its third year, offers an early-stage startup the opportunity to pitch for valuable early-stage investment of up to $1m USD. 

This year’s edition received 645 startup applicants, from 84 countries, which were fine-tuned down to 9 visionary enterprises founded by entrepreneurs aiming to reshape the world we live in.

The uniqueness of this challenge is that the founders are selected on a combination of their ambition to both make it big in business, and their personal passion to help improve the world we live in. This enterprise also offers a platform for values-driven entrepreneurs to showcase their innovations and make new connections.

The 2026 Pitchday took place at the Shard London, it was an intensive day with founders putting their all into showcasing their innovations to a judging panel made up of tech investment specialists, experienced entrepreneurs, leading academics. Including world renowned economist Paul Collier, Professor of Economics and Public Police and Oxford University and author of The Future of Capitalism (the competition’s namesake), Refuge, the Bottom Billion, and other books on social and economic reform.

Three startups were identified as Rising Stars:

• Shifted, a French EnergyTech startup, that aim to help light the world with clean, reliable and accessible energy through the development of a new compressed air battery designed to provide long-duration, low-cost, location-independent renewable energy storage, capable of delivering a reliable source of 24/7 clean power for micro-grids and independent networks.

• Multi-award-winning AgriTech innovator, Lambda Energy, that have developed a groundbreaking light-changing spray for greenhouse panels that can boost crop yields by an impressive 20%

•  A Kenyan based ClimateTech startup that’s on a mission to create a sustainable future for all by transforming how the world manages carbon. Octavia Carbon designs, build, and deploy geothermal integrated DAC technology that filters CO₂ from the atmosphere for permanent underground storage.  Their pilot DAC and geological storage facility, Project Hummingbird, is located in the central Kenyan Rift Valley.

The driving force behind the competition is Larry Sullivan, who through his company Leo Lion, is committed to using business success and commercial acumen to support social projects across the world and who is aiming to attract founders with a shared ambition.

Co-founder Melik Demirel comments:

I’m thrilled that our team at Tandem Repeat has won the prestigious Future of Capitalism Award for our groundbreaking biomanufacturing work in Procell Fibers. This recognition fuels our mission to harness technology for positive social impact and pushes us to innovate and expand our market for sustainable fibers further.

The next edition of the Future of Capitalism competition will open in May 2026