Ryan Bethencourt is a scientist, entrepreneur, and biohacker best known for his work as program director and venture partner at Indie.Bio, a biology accelerator and early stage seed fund. Bethencourt was head of life sciences at the XPRIZE foundation, a co-founder and CEO of Berkeley Biolabs, a biotech accelerator, and Halpin Neurosciences, an ALS therapeutics-focused biotech company. Bethencourt co-founded Counter Culture Labs, a citizen science nonprofit, and Sudo Room, a hacker space based in downtown Oakland, California. (Photo by Melissa Schwartz)
Artificial Intelligence
2017 Biotech Trends–Regrown Organs, Augmented Brains, and AI Diagnosis
At IndieBio we see hundreds of biotech startups and technologies, and a few key themes are emerging for 2017. Fiction is becoming a reality with cell therapies. The era of the brain has arrived. And machine learning and AI are now a key part of biotech innovation.
Bio + Life Sciences
Ubiquitous Biotech in a Time of Ignorance
Biology has recently found solutions we didn’t imagine were possible, such as the recent discovery that plants’ chlorophyll molecules act at the quantum mechanical level to maximize energy harvested from the sun. Yet, when it comes to understanding biotechnology innovations, the general public is sadly misinformed about the science. Unfounded fears have prompted the European Union to place stringent controls on the use and growth of GMO crops, and many EU countries require permits to do basic molecular biology and genetic engineering.
180° Shift: (bio)Hacking Startups
Bethencourt: Hi everyone. My name is Ryan Bethencourt. I am the co-founder of Berkeley Biolabs. I am the program director of the newly launched Indie Bio. It’s a Y Combinator for biotech, we are going to be launching in downtown San Francisco, building 30 companies per year. The idea that I’d like to challenge you […]
Bio + Life Sciences
Participatory Biology
Just as the Internet leveled the playing field for entrepreneurship, politics, and social engagement, recent advances are leveling it for biological progress. Processing power, the cloud, and Internet connectivity open doors for inquisitive individuals and nascent biotech startups. How are ordinary people involving themselves in biology, and what will be their impact? In this video, David Kirkpatrick moderates a discussion with Eri Gentry of BioCurious and the Institute for the Future, Ryan Bethencourt of Berkeley BioLabs and the XPRIZE Foundation, and David Haussler of UC Santa Cruz and HHMI.
Conferences
Bio 15
Techonomy Bio is a big-picture exploration of the transformative global social and economic benefits driven by the rapid advances being made in the biological and life sciences.
Conferences
Techonomy 14
This year Techonomy moves to the beautiful Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay, November 9-11, on the cliffs south of San Francisco, near Silicon Valley.
Conferences
Bio 14
The theme for Techonomy 2019 in Half Moon Bay, California was “Reset and Restore: Governing Tech, Retrieving Ethics, and Acting on Climate.” We are in a unique period when corporate responsibility and big-picture thinking is absolutely essential.
