Last Friday, at AptaHub in São Paulo, Bispora celebrated its third anniversary with two launches and a much-needed conversation among people who rarely sit at the same table.
Three years ago,Bisporawas born from a question that was simple to ask but profoundly complex to answer:how can we transform what is currently discarded into a product with real market value?
Since then, that question has moved beyond the drawing board and taken shape: it has become research, nights in the lab, strategic partnerships, prototypes, and the most challenging stage of all—market validation and winning over customers.
Last Friday, August 28, we celebrated this three-year journey atAptaHub, at the Instituto Biológico. We gathered twenty people in person in the room and an engaged community following along via the online livestream. It wasn’t just an anniversary toast: it was an afternoon of work, real connections, and concrete steps toward the future. And the intimate scale of that room perfectly captured our purpose.
Why a gathering, and not just a toast?
Building adeeptech— a company whose core stems from cutting-edge science and requires years of maturation before reaching the market — is impossible to do in isolation.
A deeptech company depends on state-of-the-art laboratory infrastructure, patient and long-term capital, applied research institutes, and an industry truly willing to test new solutions. Each of these players operates at its own pace and speaks its own language. It is no coincidence that many of the bottlenecks hindering innovation in Brazil stem precisely from the miscommunication between these links.
That is why our event brought together in one place:
The dynamism of theAptaHubecosystem;
The initiatives ofSebraedesigned for deeptech companies;
The agile model for funding and co-creation ofEMBRAPIIin partnership withIPT(Institute for Technological Research);
And the team fromBispora.
The most strategic discussion of the afternoon got straight to the point:funding and feasibility. EMBRAPII facilitates R&D projects with non-repayable grants, with IPT serving as an accredited center of excellence for technical execution. With funding covering one-third to one-half of project costs—without the rigidity of fixed-schedule calls for proposals and with open negotiation of intellectual property—this model fills the gap that most plagues the entrepreneur-scientist: not the quality of the science, but knowingwhich door to knock on.
Two milestones for the ecosystem: our launches
Celebrating three years also meant delivering new tools to strengthen the bridge between the lab and the market. During the event, we held two launches:
1.Fronteira Circular— Bispora’s official podcast
It premiered on stage and is now available on our YouTube channel. It’s a series of candid, biweekly conversations—each up to 20 minutes long—dedicated to dissecting the journey from the lab bench to the market: who funds, who regulates, and who buys.
Thedebut episodebrings togetherDaniela Droppa,Carlos Foz, andRaúl Bonne Hernándezfor an essential discussion on the paths and challenges facing Brazilian deep tech.
2.B360— Open and Corporate Innovation Platform
A platform created to bridge the gap between real pain points in the productive sector and technologies ready to address them. Companies post their R&D needs, startups submit solutions, and the curators stay closely connected to those with the actual needs. The platform is currently live inbeta version, available by invitation only.
From our lab to the world: the B5.0 Biomembrane
The afternoon also featured a live technology demonstration. We presented theBiomembrana B5.0, our solar panel coating developed from chitosan (extracted from the chitin in crustacean shells, a valuable byproduct of the fishing industry).
This innovation allows photovoltaic modules to be cleaned using only water, preserving the protective layer and increasing energy efficiency.
Technology Readiness Level:AtTRL 5 to 6(validated in a relevant environment);
Field Validation:Studies began in late 2023 with tests conducted at a solar farm, comparing control groups and treated panels;
Competitive Advantage:While global alternatives use fossil-based synthetic compounds, B5.0 is biodegradable, safe, and 100% bio-based.
The next step iscertification at an industrial scale— and it is precisely for this stage that we are opening discussions with new partners and investors.
And yes, there was cake
Because major milestones deserve celebration. We had cake, special mementos for those who were with us, and arelaxed happy hourin the late afternoon—that moment when conversations flow freely without formalities and where, without fail, the most enduring projects and partnerships are born.
Pushing boundaries in the age of deep tech
Three years may seem like a short time in the long cycle of a science-based company, but it’s a monumental journey for those who’ve been on the front lines doingcutting-edge science, product development, and market expansion all at once.
The greatest lesson we’ve learned so far is that the barrier is rarely technical: it lies in dialogue, in aligning expectations, and in connections that were never made. Last Friday, in a room with twenty brilliant minds—and a cake—we built a few more of these bridges.
We are immensely grateful to everyone who shared this afternoon with us, both in person and online.
The first episode ofFronteira Circularis now available. Come build this frontier with us!