Henrik Hagemann

I trained full-time with Shaolin monks before I started my first venture-backed company. The discipline is the same: pay attention, eat bitter, stay longer than feels reasonable. 

I built Puraffinity from a student competition to a deep tech leader over ten years: $30m+ raised, 40+ scientists and engineers, world-leading product & patent portfolio, and full-scale PFAS removal with 20x better performance than existing solutions. More in this video by Veritasium or Fifty Years. 

Now, I'm looking for the next hard thing. I believe AI-first deep tech startups will have an outsized impact on materials and engineering biology. If you're building in that space, let's talk. 

I've been on podcasts covering deep tech ventures, inclusion in the engineering sector, chemical pollution like PFAS and startup CEO transition. 

I am active in the engineering biology community, having done iGEM with Imperial College and been a board member of the Engineering Biology Advisory Committee (BIA) for 5+ years. To deepen inclusivity in the STEM sector, I was a member of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Industry Leadership Group for 3 years. 

I cycled the 9,400km Silk Road from China to Denmark in 87 days. I organise annual long-distance cycling trips: Cuba, Japan, Indonesia, Morocco, Serbia, Albania, Andorra & beyond.  

I continue wushu practice, having competed internationally and led Imperial College Wushu Society as president. 

I co-founded BRAP, a social enterprise providing water sanitation & infrastructure to refugees. Before that, I started a Lawnmowing as a Service business using bicycle trailers for delivery. My first job was a potato farmer in Denmark.

MEng Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London. Turned down a PhD (synbio) to build a startup instead. 

henrik@henrikhagemann.com · LinkedIn 

MIT TR35 Innovator Under 35 · Forbes 30 Under 30 Manufacturing · FRSC · FIOM3