How Bill Gates’s fellowship program is adapting to global uncertainty

Bill Gates’s climate tech organization, Breakthrough Energy, is adapting its fellowship program to address growing global uncertainty, including economic challenges and shifting policy priorities. The program, which supports startups led by budding entrepreneurs, has announced a new cohort of 45 fellows across 22 startups, marking its most globally diverse group yet—with half of the teams based outside the U.S., including locations in Asia, Canada, Germany, the U.K., and South Africa. This international emphasis is partly driven by the opening of a new fellowship hub in Singapore in partnership with Temasek and Enterprise Singapore, reflecting the recognition that climate change solutions must be globally sourced and locally tailored. The new cohort focuses on areas such as hydrogen, circularity (recycling materials), critical minerals, agriculture, and grid modernization, with particular attention to regional priorities like Asia’s interest in hydrogen and recycling due to its manufacturing footprint. The fellowship’s curriculum has also evolved to emphasize techno-economic analysis, encouraging startups to rigorously assess the economic viability of