Elsa has lived all over the world from Hong Kong to Vienna and Zurich and is now based in London. Her expertise in the buzzing world of startups as well as her unique insights on emerging science and technology make her an exciting and mind-blowing futurist.
Why The Biofuturist
As an award-winning researcher, venture capital investor and bestselling science fiction author, she draws from an unparalleled blend of experience. Her talent as a keynote speaker is to filter out the noise, break down complex science & technology into captivating stories and put it in the global business context that matters the most for leaders.
- Silicon Valley Insights: Ran a renowned startup accelerator as director at a US venture capital firm, the world’s most active early-stage investor. Helped build and launch two dozen of pioneering biotech startups to transform the food, tech and healthcare industries. Built a fast-growing business and now manages her own investment portfolio.
- Media: Known from international media incl. BBC, TED, New Statesman, deVolkskrant, Arab News, Red Bull Media, Silicon Republic, RT, Cyprus Mail, ICON, and more. Trusted by industry leaders across tech, healthcare, finance, food & beverages and oil & gas.
- Leading Expert: Biotech expert recognized by Silicon Republic, specialist digital biology consultant to an iconic tech company, expert advisory committee member at WHO on human genome editing. Consulted for leading companies in the Pharmaceutical, Oil&Gas, TelCo and Beverages industries. Authored popular articles on Singularity Hub and O’Reilly Media with over 50’000 views and her predictions have turned out to be spot-on (i.e. the future of food in an interview with AgFunder).
- Award-Winning Innovator & Prolific Researcher: She earned a PhD from Imperial College London in Synthetic Biology for pioneering medical DNA-based ‘nanobots’, won a merit-based full PhD research scholarship and multiple awards, i.e. from M.I.T., Swiss Academies of Arts & Sciences. Workshop at NASA Ames Research Centre, became a real-life cyborg live on stage.
- Best-Selling Author & Futurist Storyteller: Appeared as AI expert in BBCs award-winning flagship show Forest 404 (starring Dr. Who’s Pearl Mackie). Published a best-selling science fiction novelette on Amazon and short stories at a prime speculative literature event in London, critically acclaimed poetry in international magazines. Longlisted at Young Storyteller Award in Austria, Honorable Mention Writers of the Future, Hollywood, L.A.
- Experienced headliner: Co-headlined events with innovative musician Imogen Heap, Siri inventor Adam Cheyer, Harvard Professor George Church, advanced robot ‘Bina 48’ & Bruce Duncan, Author & Professor Dr. Lewis Dartnell, and high-profile author Caroline Criado-Perez. Spoke at over 30 events and festivals around the world, experienced with audiences over 1000 guests.
Dr. Elsa Solaris (formerly Sotiriadis) is a former venture capital investor at a renowned US-American firm, who helped fund, build and launch over two dozen pioneering startups to transform the food, tech and healthcare industries. As program director, she ran the accelerator that brought forward multi-billion dollar companies like Perfect Day.
She now manages her own investment portfolio, including digital assets, and consults on innovation and emerging technologies with leading corporations and international organizations.
She’s a a biotech leader recognized by Silicon Republic and an expert advisory committee member to the WHO on human genome editing. For her PhD at Imperial College London, she won a full merit-based scholarship to develop DNA-based ‘nanobots’ in London and Hong Kong that fight cancer cells.
As a gifted futurist storyteller, she has appeared on BBC’s flagship thriller show Forest 4040, won an honorable mention from Writers of the Future in Hollywood and was longlisted for the Young Storyteller Award 2022 (20 out of 1120) by a literary jury. She has published speculative fiction, critically acclaimed poetry and wrote popular articles for Singularity Hub and O’Reilly. She regularly publishes articles, interviews, requested statements or speculative stories.
Elsa has conducted a mix of academic, laboratory and business intelligence research on emerging technologies like synthetic biology, 3D printing, AI, big data, robotics, climate tech and novel materials and she is uniquely positioned to assess how they are poised to shape industries. She is multilingual, has lived in ten countries, and worked in over twenty on four continents. This adds a global perspective to her work.
She honed her craft as an engaging and dynamic speaker with audiences around the world at over 30 events and co-headlined with Imogen Heap, Adam Cheyer, Tim Draper, and Prof. George Church.
See keynotes with Elsa Solaris