The SynBioBeta Podcast

TodayJohn Cumbers talks with Matt Ocko, co-founder and co-Managing Partner of the silicon valley deep tech venture fund DCVC. The topics for today are the different visions of the Star Trek and Star Wars future economies, the utopic versus the dystopic; how he evaluates a company in the context of these sci-fi classics; and why he has decided to invest in Deep Tech and what opportunities are emerging in synthetic biology. Matt has over three decades of experience in the Deep Tech space, including computational and synthetic biology. Along with his investment work at DCVC, Matt holds upwards of 50 approved or pending patents. He also has a deep knowledge of China and the intellectual property environment there.He worked pro-bono with his Dad for 20 years to help develop China’s venture capital and technology regulatory frameworks. And somehow, he still finds time to build robots with his kids. Connect with Matt: @mattocko Connect with John: @johncumbers Stay updated on the latest ne...

TodayJohn Cumbers talks with Massimo Portincaso, managing director and partner at BCG. John will be talking to Massimo about what nature co-design, how we're shifting from global supply chains to global value chains, what distributed biological manufacturing is, and more.. Massimo Portincasoco-leads the Deep Tech Mission, BCG’s unit focused on the deep tech approach to innovation, emerging technologies, and the new rules of engagement for all actors in the innovation space. He is also the Chairman of HelloTomorrow, an organization dedicated to unlocking the power of deep tech to solve the toughest global challenges. You can keep up with Massimo through his newsletter,The Antidisciplinarian, which covers happenings at the intersection of matter, computation, sensing, creativity, and ethics. Connect with John: @johncumbers Stay updated on the latest news in synthetic biology, check out our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook Be sure you make...

Today John Cumbers talks with Karl Schmieder the founder of messagingLAB, a strategy and consulting firm that helps biotechnology and synthetic biology companies create and execute strategies to drive the industry forward. Connect with Karl: @karlschmieder Connect with John: @johncumbers Stay updated on the latest news in synthetic biology, check out our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook Be sure you make it to SynBioBeta Brand and Biology event December 2nd & 3rd! Click here for more information.

Today John Cumbers talks with Ryan Bethencourt, founder and CEO of Wild Earth. John will be talking to Ryan about the state of COVID and questions like "Does eating animals cause pandemics?" Recorded live on: March 15th, 2020 To watch the video component: https://www.facebook.com/SynBioBeta/videos/199598178035525/ Connect with Ryan: @RyanBethencourt Connect with John: @johncumbers Stay updated on the latest news in synthetic biology, check out our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook Be sure you make it to SynBioBeta 2020 this September 29 - October 1! Click here for more information.

Today John Cumbers talks with Emily Leproust, Entrepreneur and CEO of Twist Bioscience. John will be talking to Emily about why she founded Twist, the many industries that will be disrupted by DNA technology, and how Twist is building a company culture for growth diversity and excellence. Emily is the co founder and the CEO of Twist Bioscience, an early pioneer in high throughput synthesis and sequencing of DNA. Emily is disrupting the process of gene synthesis to enable the exponential growth of synthetic biology applications in many fields, including medicine, DNA, data storage, agriculture biology, and industrial chemicals. Connect with Emily.: @EmilyLeproust Connect with John: @johncumbers Stay updated on the latest news in synthetic biology, check out our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook Be sure you make it to SynBioBeta 2020 this September 29 - October 1! Click here for more information.

Today John Cumbers talks with John Nicols, President and CEO of Codexis, a leading protein engineering company here in Silicon Valley. I’ll be talking with John about “How protein engineering is the killer app for biology.” Specifically, I’ll talk with John about the amazing pedigree and origins of Codexis, how companies like Codexis are changing the way the biopharma industry does business, and John’s vision for how protein engineering is going to impact our daily lives. Connect with John: @johncumbers Stay updated on the latest news in synthetic biology, check out our weekly newsletter and follow us on social media: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook Be sure you make it to SynBioBeta 2020 this September 29 - October 1! Click here for more information.

Today John Cumbers talks with D.A. Wallach, recording artist and emerging tech investor. John will be talking to D.A. about his journey from performing artist to investor in emerging tech, how his unique background informs his investment thesis, and what opportunities he’s most excited about in synthetic biology these days. D.A. Wallach is a recording artist, songwriter, and investor. While an undergraduate at Harvard, he was discovered by Kanye West and Pharrell Williams. As a solo artist, D.A. is signed by Harvest Records, a subsidiary of Capitol Records, and he is the former artist-in-residence at Spotify, a company where he was an early investor. Beyond music, D.A. invests in and advises several start-up technology companies, including Synthego, Glypse Bio, Beam Therapeutics, SpaceX, Ripple. Forbes selected D.A. as one of its 30 Under 30, and Fast Company named him one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business. In 2015, he launched Inevitable Ventures, an investment partnersh...

Today John Cumbers talks with Tom Dierking, design director of transformational platform technologies at Procter & Gamble. John will be talking to Tom about his passion for transforming the consumer experience, Procter & Gamble’s revolutionary line of water-free products, and where he sees synthetic biology impacting the way that consumer brands do business. Tom Dierking is the global design director of innovation capability at Procter & Gamble (P&G). He’s a passionate advocate of design and has been driving multidisciplinary innovation for over 20 years. In leading innovation at one of the world’s top brands, Tom’s work touches the lives of millions of us. Tom is especially focused on design-inspired innovation and bringing new experiences to consumers. Tom works with Procter & Gamble’s senior leadership, leveraging design thinking on brands and company strategy initiatives, and delivering design-inspired changes to improve operations across the company. Thanks to Procter & Ga...

For the pictures John and Eben reference check out our website article (https://synbiobeta.com/synbiobeta-podcast-the-mycelium-revolution/) Today John Cumbers talks with Eben Bayer, CEO and Co-Founder of the biomaterials company Ecovative. He’ll be talking with Eben about: Why mycelium is an ideal host not just for biochemical production but also biomaterials structuring.Eben’s conception of “bio adaptation”, and the relationship of synthetic biology to “the good life.”What emerging products and markets he is most excited about these days, be it plastics, plant-based foods, or even the scaffolding for growing organs. Ecovative is a world-leading biomaterials company that is adapting natural processes to create sustainable materials. Eben has evangelized a strategy of bio-adaptation around the world, including presentations at TED Global, PopTech, and Davos. Ecovative has been recognized as a Tech Pioneer by the World Economic Forum, for its potential impact on climate change b...

Today John Cumbers talks with Ali Tamaseb, an investor at the venture firm DCVC. John will be talking to Ali about his technical strategy for finding super-founders, emerging challenges for founders, particularly in synthetic biology, and what emerging market he is most excited about these days. Ali is an entrepreneur, a previous startup founder, and a highly technical academic researcher. Ali has walked in the shoes of the scientist-turned-entrepreneur, and has first-hand experience with the challenges they face. At DCVC, he works on a broad spectrum of areas ranging from computational health and bio to cybersecurity. Ali received his Biomedical Engineering degree from Imperial College London, and he also graduated from the SIGM program at Stanford Graduate School of Business. He did research in the fields of neuroscience and human-computer interaction. Ali was an honoree of the British Alumni Award, and Imperial College President’s Medal for Outstanding Achievement. His work has ...