Critical Mass is a recurring open house, an invitation to see what’s new at Newlab hubs around the world. Every few months, our team designs new prototype exhibits with a curated group of member startups building the next wave of critical technology. Volume Four, Continuums, paid tribute to that in-between space. The stretch where prototypes meet pilots. Where the digital and physical collide in the real world. Where systems begin to take shape.

As the closing event of Deep Tech NY, this edition of Critical Mass brought together the startups building across the divide. They are scaling hardware and software in tandem, merging precision with physicality, and developing critical technologies that are transforming legacy sectors.

We welcomed over 500 members, investors, industry partners, and community members in celebration of the companies navigating the in-between: Birdstop, Caladan Bio, CREW Carbon, Diode Computers, Icarus Robotics, Kyber Labs, Moth Quantum, Popwheels, and Vycarb. Learn more about our exhibiting startups below.

Birdstop

Birdstop provides on-schedule and on-demand air support using automated drone systems. Made possible by its recent breakthroughs in FAA approvals and AI technology, Birdstop’s drone constellations operate in a fully automated mode without personnel onsite. Each drone remains on active standby in its perch and springs into action when called upon or triggered.

Caladan

Caladan is building a next-generation bioreactor platform that makes high-throughput bioprocess development faster, more accessible, and more data-driven. Their benchtop systems combine advanced automation with best-in-class functionality to help labs run more experiments, scale with confidence, and reduce cost. At the core of the platform is CaladanOS, a connected software layer that integrates every stage of scale-up and enables AI-driven process optimization for modern biomanufacturing.

CREW Carbon

CREW optimizes pH & alkalinity management to make wastewater treatment cheaper and more efficient, while permanently sequestering CO₂. CREW partners with wastewater facilities to seamlessly introduce natural minerals into the treatment process, which dissolve and permanently lock CO2 into a stable ion that is environmentally inert. This approach improves wastewater treatment by removing the cost barrier for typical pH and alkalinity optimization and providing safer, more effective process improvements.

Diode

Diode is an end-to-end platform for circuit board design. With the help of AI, they can finish a months-long design project in days, and then ship working boards from the factory directly to their clients.

Icarus

Icarus is building the robotic labor force for space, using embodied AI to solve the growing labor bottleneck in orbit. Their robots start with human-in-the-loop control and learn from demonstration, enabling them to take on tasks from cargo handling to orbital construction. By offloading routine work to intelligent machines, Icarus allows astronauts to focus on high-impact research and exploration.

Kyber Labs

Kyber Labs is building robotic manipulation platforms that expand what automation can achieve, starting with the high mix, low volume work that has resisted traditional automation. At the core of their platform are dual arms with human like hands, designed from the ground up for embodied AI.

Vycarb

Designed by expert ocean carbon and carbonate chemists and naval and mechatronics engineers, Vycarb’s technology uses passive natural water flow to store CO₂ as HCO₃ using a pH mediated dissolution, accelerating the Earth’s natural carbon storage reaction in a way that can scale safely and measurably.

PopWheels

PopWheels creates fire-safe, urban-scale battery swapping and charging infrastructure for delivery workers, e-mobility riders, food carts, and more.

Moth Quantum

MOTH’s mission is to deliver quantum products and solutions that shape the future of media, entertainment and culture.

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And our special guests, The Brooklyn United Marching Band.

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