What is deep tech? A look at how it could shape the future | Antoine Gourévitch

Transcriber: Leslie Gauthier Reviewer: Joanna Pietrulewicz

翻译人员: sylvia feng 校对人员: Yip Yan Yeung

在这个实验室里，

我发现了一个正在快速

改变世界的故事。

它能改变我们生产材料的方式、

In this research lab,

I discovered a story that is swiftly changing our world.

我们进食的方式、

甚至我们治疗的方式。

A story that has the power to change the way we produce material,

这就是关于 深度科技（deep tech）的故事。

深度科技是创新史的一个新篇章，

the way we eat

and the way we heal.

将科学、工程以及设计思维 （design thinking）联系在一起。

It is the story of deep tech.

Deep tech is a new chapter in the innovation story,

如果又发生了一场全球疫情，

bringing together science, engineering and design thinking.

而治疗药物的开发和

审批周期可以从十年或者几年

Imagine if another global pandemic happens

and the drug to combat it was developed

缩短到几个月，甚至几周之内。

and approved not in decades or years,

深度科技提供了这个可能性。

想象一下那些高新科技， 比如机器人、

but in months or even in weeks.

合成生物学、

Deep tech offers this potential.

纳米材料、

Imagine technologies like robotics,

区块链、

量子计算，

还有许多其他的技术，

synthetic biology,

当这些技术融合起来，

nanomaterial,

再和工程还有设计科学 结合成一体，

blockchain,

quantum computing

and many others --

就能使那些 看似不可能的事变为可能。

when combined with each other

and blended with engineering and design science,

所以到底什么是深度科技？

are making what's seemingly impossible possible.

在过去的 18 个月里，

我拜访了超过 100 个研究室，

So what is deep tech?

和创业公司，

从中国深圳到 以色列海法（Haifa），

I've spent the last 18 months visiting 100 research labs

我了解了这些 关于深度科技企业的信息。

and start-ups

from Shenzhen in China to Haifa in Israel,

它们着眼于基础的问题，

and this is what I learned about deep tech ventures.

识别业界几十年来 都没有解决的物理限制。

They focus on fundamental issues,

比如说，

identifying physical constraints of industries not solved for decades.

在能源领域——核聚变；

在机动性领域—— 空中自动驾驶出租车。

它们是新兴技术的交汇枢纽。

For example,

in energy, nuclear fusion;

就像合成生物技术、

in mobility, air robotaxi.

量子计算、

They work as a close hub of emerging technologies.

人工智能，

还有许多其他的技术，

它们专注于 研究利用数据和数字平台的产品

Like synthetic biology,

quantum programming,

artificial intelligence

来加速测试和运行的阶段。

and many others,

they focus on physical product using data and digital platform

它们依托于一个加快 创新循环的生态环境，

to accelerate the test-and-run phase.

包括研发和测试阶段。

They rely on an ecosystem to accelerate the innovation cycle,

对单打独斗的企业来说，

需要掌握的领域太多了。

including the build-and-test phase.

所以重要的是合作，

Too many disciplines are necessary to master for one venture to go alone.

而不是斗争。

深度科技最终是在将探索

It is about cooperation,

转变为一个设计和工程的实践。

not competition.

Deep tech is ultimately transforming discovery

所以……

它为什么那么重要呢？

into a design and engineering exercise.

它很重要，因为它正在发生，

So ...

它就在我们的身边，

一直持续发生。

why does it matter?

它将曾经被认为是不可能的事情

It matters because it is happening now,

all around us,

转变为当今可能发生的事情。

ongoing.

This approach is changing what was once considered impossible

就像 SpaceX，

一个深度科技的先驱者，

into something actively possible today.

它在航空航天工业领域 挑起了漩涡，

生产可重复使用的 火箭和宇宙飞船，

Take SpaceX,

a deep tech pioneer

who disrupted the aerospace industry

将遨游太空的成本 降低了 10 倍。

by producing reusable rockets and spaceships,

SpaceX 通过将先进材料

reducing the cost of going to space by a factor of 10.

和过去 20 年内 研发出的化学品

垂直整合，

They achieved this by combining advanced materials

利用了现代软件工程中的 模块化方式。

and chemicals developed in the last 20 years

或者 PASQAL，

with vertical integration

我的朋友艾伦·爱斯派克特（Alain Aspect）的 几位学生创立的公司，

and the modular approach of modern software engineering.

非常有创意地 将基础物理与软件工程

Or PASQAL,

the start-up founded by several students of my friend, Alain Aspect,

和数据科学相结合，

制作了一个模拟量子处理器。

creatively using fundamental physics combined with software engineering

再举个例子，成立于 波士顿的 Ginkgo Bioworks，

and data science

to create an analog quantum processor.

一个由互联网先驱汤姆·奈特 （Tom Knight）

和一群麻省理工大学的 科学家所创立。

Or take Boston-based Ginkgo Bioworks

我在那里见到了 一个前所未见的实验室，

founded by internet pioneer Tom Knight and a group of MIT scientists.

一个完全自动化的生物工程实验室

A visit to Ginkgo showed me a lab I had never seen before.

和最先进的机器人技术，

使测试成千上万个 生物设计变成可能。

I saw a fully automated bioworks lab

with the latest robotic techniques,

为了达成这个目标， 他们建立了世界上最大的

allowing to test thousands of biological designs.

内部宏基因组数据库，

数据包含细胞、酶和遗传编程，

They achieved this by building the largest internal metagenomics database

通过结合机器人、蛋白质设计，

在微生物细胞 和哺乳动物细胞中进行实践，

of cells, enzymes and genetic programming

同时利用了数据科学。

by combining robotics,

他们搭建了一个细胞编程平台，

protein design,

both in microorganism

能创造几乎所有 他们想要的生物体。

and mammalian cells

and data science.

通过将科学、技术、

They have built a cell programming platform

数据和数字平台整合，

able to create nearly any organism they want

成为生物学上的 亚马逊云服务平台（AWS），

by converging science,

technology

and data and digital platform

让初创公司和其他企业 使用他们的设施。

then to become the Amazon web services of biology,

这是一个生态系统运作的完美案例。

letting start-ups and other companies use their facilities.

那么现在很多人会想，

This is a perfect example of the ecosystem operating.

我们该如何应对技术风险呢？

So right now many of you may be thinking,

投资者准备好 进入深度科技领域了吗？

how do we manage the technological risk?

是的，技术风险是存在的。

Will investors be ready to play the deep tech game?

发展深度科技

需要我们重新思考 我们的创新方法。

Yes, there is a technological risk.

成功的深度科技企业 需要遵守这四个规则：

And developing deep tech requires to rethink our innovation approach.

规则一：

I have seen that four rules govern successful deep tech ventures.

要做问题导向的，

而不是技术导向的。

这非常重要。

许多深度科技初创企业

Rule number one:

be problem oriented,

都是从寻找一个问题的 解决方案开始的。

not technology focused.

比如 Ginkgo 和 Bayer 合作

This is very important.

Many deep tech ventures start with a solution in search of a problem.

解决氮肥问题。

氮肥是现在世界上 最广泛使用的肥料，

Ginkgo partnered with Bayer to solve the nitrogen fertilizer issue.

但是它排放了 3% 的温室气体，

Nitrogen is the most-used fertilizer in the world today.

并且污染水资源。

许多的初创企业 正试图通过他们自己的方法

But it produces three percent of greenhouse gases

and it pollutes water.

解决这一问题。

Ginkgo 却转换了答题思路：

Many start-ups today are trying to solve this issue

比起直接生产氮气，

by applying their solutions.

Ginkgo tried to solve it by asking the question in another way:

我们为何不创造一种细菌

what if instead of producing nitrogen,

将现有的氮气固定在植物的根部，

就像自然界那样做？

we create a bacteria that use existing nitrogen

规则二：

to fixate it on the roots of the plants,

深度科技是整合、 交汇、收敛的。

just like nature does?

所以你需要趁早成立一个跨学科团队

Rule number two:

it is about combining, intersecting, converging.

来完成生态系统。

这具体意味着什么呢？

So you need to bring a cross-disciplinary team early on

比如英联邦聚变系统公司 （Commonwealth Fusion Systems），

and play the ecosystem.

一家专注于核聚变的能源初创公司。

What does that mean concretely?

Take Commonwealth Fusion Systems,

他们是通过结合材料学和数据科学

an energy venture focusing on nuclear fusion.

来取得核聚变方面的突破的。

They achieved their breakthrough in nuclear fusion

这让他们完成了几年前 还是天方夜谭的

by combining advances in material and data science

计算和模拟工作。

他们还形成了一个 良好的生态系统。

that enabled them to do calculation and simulation

that was simply not doable a few years back.

像 ENI 和 Equinor 这些企业

很早以前就投资了。

And they play the ecosystem very well.

像麻省理工大学的 等离子体科学和聚变中心等学术机构

Corporates like ENI and Equinor have invested early on.

也正在积极地和它们合作。

Universities like the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Centers

像突破性能源 （Breakthrough Energy Ventures）

等风投企业也在支持他们，

are actively collaborating with them.

甚至美国政府也有兴趣开展合作。

VCs like Breakthrough Energy Ventures and others,

规则三：

are supporting them,

采用一个深度科技驱动的 设计思维方法。

and the US government seems interested in working with them.

尽早确定要测试的假设，

Rule number three:

adopt a design thinking approach powered by deep tech.

以此提早降低风险。

尽快研发出一个可运作的原型。

Identify assumptions early on to be tested

预见创新周期 每个阶段的摩擦点。

to reduce the risk up front.

Get to a working prototype as quickly as possible.

利用数据和数字平台

Anticipate friction points at each stage of the innovation cycle.

降低测试的成本。

Lilium Aviation，

一家做纯电动 空中出租车的初创企业，

Use a data and digital platform

to reduce the cost of testing them.

致力于解决城市空中交通问题，

Lilium Aviation,

a deep tech start-up building all-electric air taxi,

他们从两座原型机起步，

然后再扩大至五人座， 利用每一个航班的实时数据

aiming at solving urban air mobility,

has started by developing a two-seater prototype,

设计迭代出下一个版本。

then a five-seater using real-time data of every flight

规则四：

采用一个限额设计 （design-to-cost）的方法。

科学和工程的融合

to design the next version.

Rule number four:

需要时刻关心经济成本。

adopt a design-to-cost approach.

齐格蒙特（Zymergen），

Merging science with engineering requires to have the economics in mind

另一家合成生物学的模范公司，

每次设计一个产品时，

all the time.

都使用严格的限额设计方法。

Zymergen,

another synthetic biology lighthouse,

在设计阶段，

甚至在生产开始之前，

whenever they design a product,

use a ruthless design-to-cost approach.

他们就在寻找有着合适成本、

In the design phase,

正确参数的产品。

even before production starts,

齐格蒙特研发出了生物基 聚酰亚胺薄膜产品 Hyaline ，

they look for the right products at the right costs

一种发酵产生的

用于电子设备的透明可印刷电路。

with the right parameters.

Zymergen developed Hyaline

这种基于生物的薄膜不仅更便宜，

a transparent, printable circuit for electronics,

produced by fermentation.

还比目前使用的 基于石油的产品好。

And this biobased film is cheaper

深度科技正在不断迈向成熟。

and has better properties than the existing one,

2019 年，

总共有超过 5000 家 深度科技企业，

petroleum-based.

Deep tech is maturing quickly now.

由 500 亿美元的资金推动。

In 2019, there were more than 5,000 deep tech ventures

从研究室发展出来的初创企业

fueled by 50 billion dollars of investors and their money.

有着解决我们最紧迫问题的能力。

Ventures coming out of research labs

想一想你想在这个世界上培育什么，

have the power to solve our most pressing issues.

想一想深度科技可以如何帮助你，

Think what you would like to grow in your world.

可能是加速一种药品开发，

Consider how might deep tech help you cultivate that thing,

又可能是解决温室气体问题，

maybe by accelerating a drug development

又或者是解决困扰你城市的 交通拥堵问题。

or by eliminating greenhouse gases

深度科技是在我们面前

or perhaps by solving the congestion problem plaguing your city.

一个不断成长的机会，

等待着被世界重视。

Deep tech is an ever-growing opportunity in front of us,

它是创新故事的下一章节，

waiting to be scaled for this world and more.

今天我邀请大家和我一起创造它。

It is the next chapter in the innovation story,

谢谢。

and today I invite all of you to join me in its creation.

Thank you.