Latest Interviews
Showing 1–3 of 3 transcripts.
Clear all filters- a16z10 min
Disrupt Yourself
The speaker frames the current transition in life sciences as an industrial revolution where biology shifts from artisanal discovery to engineered automation, urging leaders to proactively disrupt themselves before market forces do. Drawing parallels to strategic pivots by Jensen Huang at Nvidia and Steve Jobs with AT&T, the presentation defines corporate survival as a form of social engineering that prioritizes future ecosystems over existing profitability. Ultimately, the event calls for redefining healthcare and entertainment as technology sectors to fundamentally reshape illness prevention and treatment.
- a16z14 min
a16z Podcast | The Genetics Of Drug Delivery
Stanford professor Russ Altman leads a data science laboratory that integrates molecular, cellular, and population-level data to optimize drug response and identify previously unknown side effects. By analyzing diverse sources ranging from electronic medical records to web search logs, Altman's team successfully uncovered critical interactions, such as a glucose spike caused by combining paroxetine and pravastatin, and predicted new therapeutic uses for existing cancer drugs. This multi-scale approach, supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health and industry partners like Pfizer and Genentech, aims to replace fragmented clinical trial models with continuous, data-driven surveillance for safer and more effective pharmaceutical development.
- a16z24 min
When Biology Moves to Engineering
Positioning biological evolution as a source of accumulated "technical debt," the event frames modern healthcare challenges as engineering problems solvable through AI-driven precision rather than traditional trial-and-error discovery. Key advancements in automated circuit design and behavioral digital therapeutics demonstrate how this shift enables predictable, high-accuracy solutions for complex conditions like cancer and diabetes. Ultimately, the approach seeks to transform medicine by engineering the reversal of aging and optimizing systemic care coordination to move from reactive sick care to proactive health maintenance.