From climate tech to robots that help humans, these young entrepreneurs are creating new tools, materials and technologies for a sustainable and safer world.
By Kate Gammon, Bella Sayegh and Elizabeth Brier
wHen Catherine Sizov When he learned that more than 40% of food is wasted before it is eaten, he was inspired to take action. His company, Strela, uses AI models and sensors to monitor supply chains – knowing when apples and pears are ripe before it’s too late means less waste in our food system. Their technology has already saved over 40 million pounds of fruit from rotting.
Sustainability, efficiency and recycling are big drivers for many of the startups on our Forbes 2026 30 Under 30 Manufacturing & Industry list, which highlights young entrepreneurs in sectors such as manufacturing, robotics, aerospace, agriculture and climate tech.
Take mason mincey27, derek saltzman28, Matthew Jagger27, and patrick mitchell28, who founded Soares to transform organic waste and seaweed into a nanocellulose material eight times stronger than steel. Their manufacturing materials are now used in the mining, automotive and aerospace industries.
and there is stuart pena feliz28, whose company Macrocycle creates new plastics and resins from textile and plastic waste. his goal? Reducing the over 5 million metric tons of plastic entering our waterways each year. Teresa Liu, 27Launched Auros Materials to use carbon dioxide to print ultra-tough composite materials to create building panels for affordable construction. Reef Arches, founded by nicholas bordan29, forms massive honeycomb barriers that are installed away from the coast to protect the coastline from storms and sea level rise. Made of 70% sand, research shows that its arches protect beaches from washing away and promote biodiversity.
Companies are also tackling problems with our roads and waterways. Co-Founded by Pave Robotics Mason Landon Smith, 29, And josh kelly, 26, Creates a robot that can repair and assess the condition of roads – saving cities money and time. Nurhaluda Saleh, 29, co-founded Continuum Infrastructure Solutions, which can predict asphalt cracking and advise on the best mix for certain projects and locations. And in the sea, 23-year-old levi gerhsan Created CRABI Robotics, which creates untethered robots that clean the bottoms of merchant ships carrying cargo around the world.
Meanwhile, Forbes Under 30 robotics companies aim to make work and life safer and more efficient. Gary Chen, 28, And Conley OsterThe 29-year-old co-founder of Raze Robotics set out to equip contractors with extra hands for drilling and lifting. Listers are also making factory floors safer. Tristan Fogat28, is the CTO of Sensory Robotics, which uses 3D sensor algorithms to track human-robot interactions in foundries and factories in real time. Anand Lalwani29, started Cardinal Robots, which makes autonomous cleaning robots that can vacuum, scrub, clean windows and perform other difficult tasks that require human labor.
To find top talent in manufacturing and industry, forbes Journalists Elizabeth Brier, Kate Gammon and Bella Sayegh examined hundreds of nominations submitted online or generated by our own reporting. To be considered for the list, all candidates must be under the age of 30 by December 31, 2025, and have never previously been named to a North America, Europe or Asia 30 Under 30 list. We then sent the top candidates to our team of expert judges to help choose the final 30.
Our judge this year was Rema MatevosyanCEO of Near Space Labs, Jill Fass Managing Director of Activate Berkeley, chris powerCEO of Hadrian, and Rajat BhageriaCEO of Chef Robotics and alumnus of the Under 30 list. Of this year’s manufacturing and industry inductees, 27% are women, 37% are people of color and 100% are founders or co-founders.
From Sizov’s anti-rot technology to Rise Robotics’ focus on safety, this year’s class is one step ahead of the world’s toughest manufacturing challenges on the factory floor, at sea and in the supply chain. “I think a lot of sustainable solutions are beneficial, promoting adaptation, bringing more brilliant solutions to whatever industry you work in,” says Sizov. “And I think Gen Z gets that.”
This year’s list was edited by Elizabeth Brier, Kate Gammon and Bella Sayegh. For links to our full 2026 30 Under 30 Manufacturing & Industries list, Click hereAnd for complete 2026 30 Under 30 coverage, Click here,
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