#91 - Ahmed Ismail - Dunia - Where AI meets material discovery

#91 - Ahmed Ismail - Dunia - Where AI meets material discovery

Author: Hugo Rauch May 5, 2026 Duration: 1:20:39

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🌊 When AI hits the atom

Why the future of materials discovery won’t be built on simulations alone.

We’re joined by Ahmed Ismail, Co-founder & COO of Dunia, a Berlin-based deeptech company building AI- and robotics-powered systems to accelerate the discovery and scale-up of industrial breakthrough materials.

In this episode, we dive into one of the biggest bottlenecks in climate and industrial innovation: materials discovery, and unpack why the real opportunity is not just asking AI to invent new formulas, but building the physical infrastructure to test, validate, and scale them.

In our conversation, we covered:

→ Why so many scientific breakthroughs still depend on serendipity — and how AI might increase the frequency of those “lucky” moments.

→ The difference between AI-generated materials, simulation-first approaches, and autonomous industrial labs.

→ Why the sim-to-real gap is the central challenge in AI for materials: what looks perfect on a computer often fails in a reactor.

→ How Dunia built IRIS, an autonomous industrial lab designed to generate high-quality, device-level data for real-world applications.

→ Why the future may belong to vertical, industry-specific AI systems — not one general “ChatGPT for materials.”

AI for good. 🔥



This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newwavenewsletter.substack.com

Hugo Rauch hosts New Wave, a podcast that lives at the intersection of business ambition and scientific reality. This isn't about distant predictions or abstract science; it's a grounded exploration of the technologies and companies being built right now to address our environmental future. Each episode focuses on the practical journey, dissecting the models, the breakthroughs, and the hard decisions that define the climate tech landscape. You'll hear from founders, researchers, and investors who are actively shaping this space, getting into the specifics of what works, what doesn't, and why. The conversations move beyond hype to examine the tangible mechanics of creating viable solutions, from energy storage and sustainable materials to carbon removal and regenerative agriculture. It’s for anyone who thinks about the climate challenge not just as a crisis, but as a complex and urgent field of innovation. By tuning into this podcast, you gain a clearer understanding of the economic forces and scientific principles driving the next generation of environmental solutions. New Wave connects the dots between the lab, the boardroom, and the impact we need to see in the world, offering a sober yet optimistic look at where substantive progress is truly being made.
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