SynBioBeta Speaker
Tim Schnabel
Founder and CEO
Switch Bioworks
May 2026, SynBioBeta
Speaker
Dr. Tim Schnabel is the Founder and CEO of Switch Bioworks, a venture-backed biotechnology company engineering microbes to produce nitrogen fertilizer directly on plant roots. Fertilizer is one of agriculture’s largest costs and environmental challenges, underpinning global food production while contributing over a gigaton of greenhouse gas emissions annually. Tim’s work focuses on solving the core unit-economics and technical challenges that have historically limited agricultural biologicals — enabling products that can replace large amounts of synthetic fertilizer at a fraction of the cost. He spent over a decade at Stanford studying engineering, economics, and entrepreneurship, where he invented the company’s founding technology. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, he is building the foundation for “Biology on Demand,” where engineered microbes manufacture essential products where and when they are needed.
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