From climate tech breakthroughs to life-saving biotech and sustainable farming, the top MBA startups of 2025 are proving that business school innovation is not just about unicorns — it’s about solving the world’s biggest challenges.
In 2025, MBA-founded startups are raising record-breaking funding rounds — but the real story goes beyond valuations. The latest Poets&Quants list of the 100 Highest-Funded MBA Startups reveals how today’s MBA entrepreneurs are focusing on practical, high-impact innovation in sectors ranging from agriculture to healthcare and climate technology.
Take FarmRaise, founded by Stanford MBA Jayce Hafner, a one-stop digital platform helping farmers secure grants and loans to improve both profitability and sustainability. Then there’s HOPO Therapeutics, co-founded by UC Berkeley Haas MBA/MPH student Hannah Weber, which is developing the first-ever oral treatment for heavy-metal poisoning — a breakthrough that recently earned the startup a $226 million BARDA contract from the U.S. government.
Meanwhile, Mantel, founded by MIT Sloan MBA and chemical engineer Cameron Halliday, is tackling one of climate tech’s hardest challenges — making carbon capture affordable and scalable. Using molten borate salts, Mantel’s system traps CO₂ directly from furnaces and industrial sites, cutting capture costs by half. “Carbon capture has failed to meet its promise because it’s expensive,” Halliday explained. “Our technology changes that.” The startup secured $30 million in Series A funding in September 2024, led by Shell Ventures and Eni Next, to transition from lab testing to industrial pilot.
Halliday, who earned both an MBA and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from MIT, is also a Breakthrough Energy Innovator Fellow, supported by Bill Gates’ climate fund to accelerate solutions with global environmental impact.
A Global Benchmark for Entrepreneurial Excellence
Since 2014, Poets&Quants has tracked the world’s top MBA-led startups, using a simple and transparent metric — total external funding raised in the past five years. For the 2025 list, only startups founded between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2024, with at least one MBA co-founder, qualified. Funding data was verified through official sources and partner business schools worldwide.
From sustainability-focused ventures to AI-driven enterprises, this year’s MBA startup ecosystem shows how business schools are shaping the next generation of innovators, problem-solvers, and impact leaders. These founders are not just chasing unicorns — they’re chasing real-world change.
