From Villain to Hero: Rubi Labs's Quest to Make CO2 Work for the Climate

What started with a small grant from the National Science Foundation to two twin science-y sisters barely out of college is now a startup employing dozens of people that's so far raised more than $13 million to revolutionize how we make clothing.

Here's how it works: You already know that plants take in CO2 and convert it into biomass, which we humans often like to turn into clothing. But what if we could bypass the plants, and just capture C02 being emitted from a factory and convert it with enzymes into fabrics that we could then wear? Not only would this magical process take emissions out of the atmosphere, but they'd also prevent the need to pollute in order to make the clothing we currently buy.

That's exactly what Rubi Labs is doing, displacing the need to grow cotton by harnessing the power of biotech fermentation to capture CO2 from factories and convert it into textiles.

As you'll hear in this conversation, Rubi CEO Neeka Mashouf started the company with her twin sister Leila, and they've already partnered with major brands like H&M.

Discussed in this episode

• Neeka recommends The World in a Grain and Rivers of Power.

• Neeka enjoys listening to the How I Built This podcast.

• Paul recommends the documentary Three Identical Strangers

More about Rubi Co-Founders

Neeka and Leila Mashouf were raised by the old-growth redwood forests and coasts of Northern California. Their family before them found refuge here after fleeing Iran in 1979, and told stories of how the walnut groves and sparkling shores reminded them of home. Neeka and Leila fell in love with trees and nature, the science of how they work, and the materials of which they are made -- both starting scientific research careers at age 15 and growing up to be scientists.

At the same time, the twin sisters grew up immersed in the artistic world of fashion through their family's brand, Bebe Stores. They spent summers learning from merchants, designers, production experts, and manufacturers, magnetized by the beauty of fashion then later devastated by the environmental impact.

Their unique upbringing inspired them to use science and invention to take action across the manufacturing industry to fight the destruction of our clean air, water, climate, arable land, and biodiverse ecosystems. They started Rubi in 2021 after inventing and prototyping the technology in a public biohacking lab, leveraging their deep scientific expertise in materials engineering and bioengineering.