The Biology of Aging

Vijay Pande, founding partner of a16z Bio + Health, dives deep with a16z Podcast host Steph Smith into the potential of DNA as a data storage mechanism.

This episode, a cross-post with the a16z Podcast, draws parallels between Moore's Law and the race for "Moore's Law for DNA." Vijay discusses the density, longevity, and ubiquity of DNA, and how this could be leveraged into a data storage solution. Vijay and Steph mix technical advancements with futuristic speculation as they talk about what the future of biotech might look like.

Julie Klapstein, founding CEO of Availity, long-time healthcare executive, and a16z Bio + Health's newest advisory partner, joins Julie Yoo, general partner at a16z Bio + Health.

Together, they delve into Julie Klapstein's rich career journey, which has spanned several decades of progress in healthcare. They also discussed building Availity, her time at MultiPlan, and the network effects undergirding both businesses. Finally, they talk about how AI could impact healthcare—for payors, providers, and the network businesses in between.

Scribe Therapeutics cofounder and CEO Benjamin Oakes, PhD, joins a16z Bio + Health founding general partner Vijay Pande.

In this episode, Benjamin traces his journey from PhD student to pioneering CEO in genome editing. Benjamin discusses his early exposure to CRISPR technologies, his hands-on experience of transforming these bacterial immune systems into "genome editing scalpels," and the founding of Scribe. The conversation sheds light on the challenges of engineering these molecules, as well as the potential for life-changing therapeutics.

Josh Clemente, cofounder and president of Levels, joins Vijay Pande, founding general partner, and Daisy Wolf, investment partner at a16z Bio + Health.

In this episode, engineer-turned-entrepreneur Josh charts his journey from SpaceX and Hyperloop to cofounding metabolic health-focused company Levels. With a relentless drive for data-led health monitoring, Josh highlights the potential of wearable tech for tracking various biomarkers. Josh, Vijay, and Daisy also discuss how AI can simplify complex wearables data into a comprehensible and actionable health profile, with the potential to democratize healthcare technology.

Former gymnast and current investor Aly Raisman joins general partner Julie Yoo and investment partner Daisy Wolf of a16z Bio + Health.

In this episode, Aly Raisman shares her quest for healthier living—physically, mentally and financially—on her journey from gymnast to a business investor. Having herself transitioned from an intensely structured routine, Aly emphasizes the need for more open conversations about mental health and financial literacy. She speaks passionately about the gap in women’s health solutions and hopes to inspire entrepreneurs to create impactful businesses. Aly’s experiences as a patient, survivor, and global figure adds a unique dimension to her perspective as an investor. This candid conversation with both Aly and Julie Yoo sheds light on Aly’s passion for more education within the investment space  offering invaluable insights for entrepreneurs, particularly in biotech and healthcare.

Max Cohen, cofounder and CEO of Sprinter Health, and Eren Bali, founder and CEO of Carbon Health, join Julie Yoo, general partner at a16z Bio + Health.

Together, they talk about becoming healthcare entrepreneurs despite non-healthcare backgrounds and what they had to learn along the way. They also discuss finding product-market fit, how they track PMF using KPIs, and the evolving investor landscape as the digital health space expands and matures.

Additional reading:

• Digital Health Builder Diaries series

In this episode, Joe Grogan, a senior fellow at the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics and a former senior government official, joins Vijay Pande, founding partner of a16z Bio + Health to discuss all things regulation.

Together, they dive into Joe’s experience working in the early days of the Covid pandemic, how he thinks about the Inflation Reduction Act’s effect on pharmaceutical R&D, and the future of AI regulation.

Additional reading:

Check out Joe's latest op-ed here, his own podcast here, and his Twitter account here.

Today's episode features the CEO of Tome Biosciences, Rahul Kakkar, alongside John Finn, CSO of Tome. They are joined by Jorge Conde, general partner at a16z Bio + Health.

Together, the three of them discuss the technology underlying Tome's work, known as PASTE, a genome editing technique. They also dive deep into how this technology could be applied to help patients, making cell therapy more accessible for more people.

Editorial note: We mistakenly identified Rahul Kakkar and John Finn as the co-founders of Tome Biosciences. In reality, Rahul serves as the CEO, and John is the CSO of Tome. The actual co-founders of Tome Biosciences are Jonathan Gootenberg and Omar Abudayyeh.

Bio Eats World is now Raising Health!

Vijay Pande, founding partner of Bio + Health, is joined by Daphne Koller, Andrew Ng, Aviv Regev, and Jakob Uszkoreit.

Vijay leads us on a reflective journey through the monumental achievements in AI from the 1980s to today, with a focus on the progress in healthcare and life sciences. This episode is drawn from the episodes we recorded in 2023 with Daphne Koller, Andrew Ng, Aviv Regev, and Jakob Uszkoreit, which are linked below.

This blend of expert commentary and firsthand insights explores the burgeoning impact of AI on healthcare innovation and how it's reshaping the future of health.

• AI and Actionable Insights for Drug Development with Daphne Koller
• Navigating the Future of AI with Andrew Ng
• When Quantity Becomes Quality with Aviv Regev
• Using AI to Take Bio Farther with Jakob Uszkoreit

Bio Eats World is now Raising Health!

On this first episode of Raising Health, Sean Duffy, cofounder and CEO of Omada Health, joins Vijay Pande, founding partner of Bio + Health.

Sean and Vijay discuss the building and growth of Omada, from the early days to now. As the cofounder of one of the original digital health companies, Sean has unique insight into the growth of both the digital health field and the changing venture capital environment.  They also talk about the future of AI, how Omada is leveraging AI, and the challenges that might arise with using a technology in a caregiving environment.