JEDDAH: In order to achieve viable technological solutions for the future, venture capitalists need to overcome the need for immediate financial return and focus on long-term goals, according to speakers at the fourth Future Investment Initiative (FII) forum currently taking place in Riyadh.
Deep technology and solutions for the future that can cope with “feeding nine billion people, climate refugees and habitat provision” are seemingly within reach, but they will take time to accomplish, Interstellar Lab founder and CEO, Barbara Belvisi told delegates.
How can we make life in outer space a reality in the next few decades? @b_belvisi, Founder and CEO @InterstellarLA, stresses at FII 4th Edition that a robust strategy is needed to take us to the stars. #FIINeoRenaissance pic.twitter.com/Tt9KGTuR2R
— FII Institute (@FIIKSA) January 28, 2021
“Traditional venture capitalists will not succeed in financing those technologies if they don’t change their approach when it comes to return on investment,” said Belvisi.
Short-term business models are still necessary to make money, she said, but an investor that supports a vision and can focus on the bigger picture is vital in these types of ventures.
“If the mission is to build a station on Earth where we can all live sustainably, and then in the future on Mars, we need an investor that embraces that vision and will help us make money along the way so we can achieve it,” she explained.
Interstellar Lab works with major space-focused corporations, including NASA and SpaceX, to develop sustainable, environmentally controlled space stations on Earth, in which to grow food, treat water and regenerate waste.
