Can we reimagine our material world—from the clothes we wear to the creams we use—using biology as our blueprint? What if the materials of tomorrow were hiding in the natural world—and all we needed was a way to grow them? In this episode of Ignition Sequence, host Dylan Bohbot speaks with Dr. David Breslauer, co-founder of Bolt Threads, about the science and promise of bioengineered materials—from spider silk and mycelium leather to proteins designed for personal care.
Dr. Breslauer shares how decades of obsession with spider silk turned into a company making real-world products with custom-designed biomaterials. From sustainable textiles to fungus-based leather alternatives, and even proteins that replace microplastics in face creams, Breslauer reveals how biology, evolution, and biotechnology can come together to solve some of our biggest material challenges. They also explore the role of AI in designing new proteins, the future of regenerative materials, and the deeper mystery of how human learning actually works.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
1. Why spider silk is one of the most powerful natural materials—and so hard to replicate
2. How microbes are engineered to produce proteins like spider silk at scale
3. What Bolt Threads is doing with mushroom-based leather and beauty products
4. Why microplastics and synthetic additives in clothing and cosmetics are a growing concern
5. How AI is helping design better proteins for next-generation biomaterials
Timestamps
00:00:27 – Meet Dr. David Breslauer: bioengineer and co-founder of Bolt Threads
00:02:11 – Discovering spider silk and launching a biomaterials company
00:04:39 – The problem with synthetic materials and microplastics in clothing
00:07:29 – Why biodegradable, bio-based materials are the future
00:10:20 – Making spider silk from microbes: how it works
00:17:20 – Spinning silk into fibers, films, and more
00:20:05 – What are B-Silk, Microsilk, and Mylo? Product breakdown
00:21:44 – Replacing toxic chemicals in skincare with bioengineered proteins
00:24:09 – How genome databases unlock new silks from bees, crickets, and more
00:26:31 – Why spider silk is so difficult to manufacture
00:32:02 – Spider silk for wound healing and medical applications
00:34:02 – The challenge of bringing bio-based apparel to market
00:38:12 – Using AI to design new proteins and biomaterials
00:41:42 – Color without pigment: the next frontier of natural dyes
00:44:01 – Milo: Bolt Threads’ fungus-based leather alternative
00:47:09 – Curiosity beyond silk: how do humans actually learn?
Helpful Links
🔹 Bolt Threads: https://boltthreads.com
🔹 Accelerator Media: https://acceleratormedia.org
