about
solpera pty ltd · hobart, tasmania · est. 2026
who founded solpera?
Solpera was founded in Hobart in 2026 by Mathew Youssef to develop the technology and research for measuring photoprotection and livingness, and ultimately to explore new mechanisms for defining alien life. He trained on the spectroscopy of cyanobacteria during his master's research in 2025 and is now a PhD candidate at the University of Tasmania. Solpera came out of that research: the experiments, instruments and methods the questions needed did not exist, so he built a company to make them.
The name is literal: sol, sun; pera, beyond.
in the founder's words
“It is my belief that life is not defined correctly. Our understanding of it is limited by the dimensions and sensory organs through which we interact with the universe.”
mathew youssef · founder
where it is going
The long goal is to find life on other worlds. To do that, we must first better define life on our own. Polar deserts are as close as Earth comes to a Martian surface: cold, dry, irradiated, with life present but sparse and hard to see. There the labels “alive” and “dead” fail outright, because microbial mats sit dry for months or years, then carry on once water reaches them. A method that cannot find and adequately characterise life there will not find it anywhere harder, and unlike Mars, you can fly back and forth quickly enough to refine the technique.
how it is funded
The instruments and the onboard AI we build for our own research are what we offer others. Solpera builds private AI systems and custom instruments for a small number of organisations, and that engineering income is the research budget.
Research collaboration, sample or site access, or press.