Dan Widmaier is the CEO of Bolt Threads, a biotechnology company creating the next generation of materials that raise the bar for sustainability through an intentional design for reduced environmental impact. Widmaier earned his PhD in Chemistry and Chemical Biology from UC San Francisco, where his graduate research involved designing genetic circuits to control microbial organelles. In 2009, he co-founded Bolt Threads to address the growing need for high-quality sustainable materials. The company’s first material, Microsilk™, launched in 2012, is a fiber produced from spider silk protein through fermentation. In 2016, Widmaier led the creation of Mylo™, a revolutionary material made from mycelium, the underground structure of mushrooms, that is capable of replacing animal and synthetic leather. Harnessing his experience in both science and business development, Widmaier has scaled Bolt Threads from an incubator startup to a biomaterials platform with 100+ employees with over $200 million of investor capital. He has led Bolt Threads through multiple fundraising rounds, created lasting partnerships with brands like Stella McCartney, and launched an increasing number of commercially available products using Bolt Threads materials.
