Selected into the HopStone Capital portfolio with non-dilutive pre-seed funding.
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The Strategic Challenge
Rare earths power the world. A strategic competitor controls the supply.
>80%
U.S. reliance on foreign rare earth processing
>95%
of global REE supply under strategic competitor control
12 of 17
rare earth elements already weaponized by a strategic competitor
A strategic competitor controls what the West can buy.
Export restrictions have already cut supply to Western manufacturers and defense contractors without warning.
7x
projected REE demand increase by 2040: AI, clean energy, defense
2027
DFARS mandate: U.S.-origin sourcing required for defense
The minerals exist. Processing is the bottleneck.
Of ~70 kt of REO mined annually in the U.S., just ~9 kt is refined into usable material. The rest is lost in processing or dispersed in e-waste, with less than 1 kt ever recovered.
~70 kt
REO mined annually (U.S.)
~9 kt
actually refined into usable material
<1 kt
recovered through recycling
20–30 kt
lost in processing waste & e-waste annually
The Cliban Platform
A biological solution to a geopolitical problem
The problem is not scarcity. It is the inability to process what already exists. Cliban changes that.
.01
Feedstock
Mine tailings, e-waste, and sub-economic ores. Cliban starts where conventional refiners stop.
.02
Extraction
Biological processes mobilize rare earth elements directly from the feedstock, under ambient conditions.
.03
Separation
Isolates each rare earth element at high purity in a single integrated process.
.04
Product
High-purity rare earth compounds delivered into defense, clean energy, and advanced electronics supply chains.
Feedstocks conventional refiners reject.
<1%
TREO
Waste · not viable
1–5%
TREO
Low-grade · up to 50% lost
>5%
TREO
High-grade · industry standard
Mine tailings
~1% TREO
E-waste
~0.1% TREO
0%
5% TREO
conventional minimum
Both fall in the waste category. No minimum grade required.
21Sc
39Y
60Nd
65Tb
66Dy
Permanent Magnets
EV motors, wind turbines, defense
Aerospace
lightweight alloys, fuel cells
Clean Energy
solid oxide fuel cells, phosphors
Defense Systems
guidance, radar, specialty optics
High-purity REE compounds, delivered into allied supply chains.
Space Systems
Validated on Earth. Hardened for space.
Built for environments where conventional equipment fails. Earth is where we prove it.
Leadership
Founded across synthetic biology, aerospace, and national defense
Founding Team
Bijan Harandi
Chief Executive Officer
Systems Biology · Case Western Reserve
Microbiologist with research spanning NASA Ames and Harvard Medical School. Leads strategy, fundraising, and company development.
LinkedIn
Michael Cory, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer
Synthetic Biology · Harvard Medical School
Synthetic biologist specializing in biological REE separation. Leads scientific research and platform R&D.
LinkedIn
Jaume Puig
Chief Technology Officer
Space Radiobiology · Laurentian / SNOLAB
Biomedical engineer specializing in biological hardware for extreme environments, including microgravity. Architects the Cliban Platform.
LinkedIn
Jay Chen
Strategy & Operations
Biomedical Engineering · Johns Hopkins
Biomedical engineer with research across space bioscience, medical devices, and regenerative medicine.
LinkedInAdvisory Board
Dr. Ehsan Vahidi
Extractive Metallurgy · University of Nevada
Dr. Nicholas Goldner
Venture Partner · Alix Ventures
Dr. Christopher Mason
Genomics · Cornell University
Dr. Luis Zea
Chief Scientist · Starlab Space
Milestones
Early traction. Independent validation.
Placed 3rd at the Tufts $100k New Ventures Competition Finals.
View announcement ↗The minerals are here.
So is the solution.
The supply chain gap is real. We're closing it.
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