From Bits to Atoms: Managing the Deep Tech Renaissance

This editorial examines the shift in innovation management from software-based models toward deep tech and science-based industries such as advanced manufacturing, energy, and biotechnology. It argues that traditional digital-era approaches, including rapid iteration and minimum viable product thinking, are often inadequate for physical-world innovation, where technical risk, capital intensity, and system integration play a much larger role. The article emphasizes that succeeding in deep tech requires more than developing a strong product. Organizations must also build the broader ecosystem needed to support commercialization, including specialized assets, strategic partnerships, appropriate talent, and governance structures designed for long-term, discontinuous innovation. Overall, the piece calls for innovation management practices that are better aligned with the realities of science-based scaling and the demands of the physical world.