Michael Koeris
@mkoeris
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Director of the Biological Technologies Office @DARPA. BOD @addgene. Serial founder Vulcan Biologics, GDMC, Sample6 (acq.), Corvium (acq.); frm. Prof @KeckGrad!
Arlington, VA
Joined February 2009
Today, we're launching @Sequoia's latest seed and venture funds to partner with outlier founders at the start of their journey. There's never been a more exciting time to be a founder. Nearly every industry will be disrupted by AI. So far, the age of AI has brought intelligence
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This is good!!!
I bounce this email to myself every ~week. Coming across it sporadically in my inbox catches my brain off guard. Revealing. I often find (a) I think about big problems for several weeks, and (b) There is rarely good reason not to do the high agency thing.
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the "gold standard" of pathogen detection to this day is a 40 yo technology (RT-qPCR) that has barely changed over the decades, and you still believe that the most we can do for biosecurity is "more global governance"?
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1959: LIFE Magazine captures two @RANDCorporation researchers inspecting an oil drilling rig in the Pacific Ocean to determine viability for use as missile launching platform Make think tanking great again
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Stephen Wolfram says LLMs may have put the final nail in the coffin of the idea that consciousness is something magical beyond physics. What we call awareness, this “single thread of experience,” might have begun as a way for early animals to decide whether to turn left or
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Instant follow. Best Sunday morning read in a while. FP FTW 🫡🇺🇸
Data centers in orbit? Of course that’s your contention. Of course it is. You just finished watching a Scott Manley video on radiative heat transfer and now you think you’re gonna disrupt AWS with a few solar panels and a rideshare slot. You’re gonna believe that right up until
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Congrats on the launch, @ValthosTech! Biotechnology is inherently dual-use and little has been done to defend against biological threats. Valthos is the most serious effort in this direction that I know and led by my friend @velvetatom. If I wasn’t a physicist by heart, I’d
Valthos builds next-generation biodefense. Of all AI applications, biotechnology has the highest upside and most catastrophic downside. Heroes at the frontlines of biodefense are working every day to protect the world against the worst case. But the pace of biotech is against
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To continue this legacy is the honour of my life. If I can make my dad proud, I’ve done my job. Behind everything I do is a conservation mission that my dad started.
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NEWS 🚨 AI-enabled biological threats are one of humanity's greatest risks. It's becoming easier to design a weapon than a cure. Couldn't be prouder to back @kath_mcmahon, our own @velvetatom & the @ValthosTech team building America's biodefense capability
Valthos builds next-generation biodefense. Of all AI applications, biotechnology has the highest upside and most catastrophic downside. Heroes at the frontlines of biodefense are working every day to protect the world against the worst case. But the pace of biotech is against
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TBT’s first event in Berlin 🧬✨
TechBio Transformers is coming to Berlin! Join us on Nov 19th for a gathering of expert operators and builders at the intersection of Biology and AI https://t.co/Ob2LgJSaGi
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For years, @velvetatom kept talking to me about the need to build up our biodefense capabilities, fast. Together with @kath_mcmahon, they’re now building the best team to do it @ValthosTech — creating systems that can keep up with both the great upside and the catastrophic
One of the greatest opportunities in AI safety and security is the chance to help support the creation of new industry verticals that help maximize the benefits and minimize the risks. The technology is moving fast. One of the best ways to keep up is with more technology, more
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After I left govt and before @anthropicai, I explored building a biodefense startup. There are few missions as generationally inspiring. And it was clear the startups were going to be very cool. I'll be following @ValthosTech!
Today, @ValthosTech launches with $30M from @Lux_Capital, @OpenAI, and @foundersfund. For the past few months I’ve been working with their world-class team (@MIT, @GoogleDeepMind, @PalantirTech) building America’s modern next-gen infrastructure. Hiring –– DM me.
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Today, @ValthosTech launches with $30M from @Lux_Capital, @OpenAI, and @foundersfund. For the past few months I’ve been working with their world-class team (@MIT, @GoogleDeepMind, @PalantirTech) building America’s modern next-gen infrastructure. Hiring –– DM me.
Valthos builds next-generation biodefense. Of all AI applications, biotechnology has the highest upside and most catastrophic downside. Heroes at the frontlines of biodefense are working every day to protect the world against the worst case. But the pace of biotech is against
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Announcing Lux latest investment and creation.... BIODEFENSE @ValthosTech —co-founded by Lux's @velvetatom Tess Van Stekelenburg + led by brilliant ex Palantir @kath_mcmahon
Valthos builds next-generation biodefense. Of all AI applications, biotechnology has the highest upside and most catastrophic downside. Heroes at the frontlines of biodefense are working every day to protect the world against the worst case. But the pace of biotech is against
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@lizette_chapman @ValthosTech @OpenAI @LuxCapital @foundersfund great to work with you on this @lizette_chapman! and thats exactly the asymmetry we're trying to fix
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Biosecurity startup @ValthosTech emerges from stealth with $30M from @OpenAI @LuxCapital @foundersfund to Use AI to detect and counter bioweapon attacks. Crazy to me how little effort a bio attack would take and how much remains to be done to counter threats.
bloomberg.com
OpenAI, Founders Fund and Lux Capital have invested in Valthos, a startup using AI to try to prevent AI-enabled destruction.
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4/ I met some insanely talented people who feel the same way, and we started Valthos to bring our experience in operational software & ML to the experts on the frontlines of biodefense.
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3/ We have an opportunity to use emerging AI methods to strengthen biodefense - earlier detection of threats, faster, more precise medicine. It’s a race to get these systems in place to deter the worst case and we’re running out of time. This is the problem I want to solve.
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2/ With advances in AI, biotech is becoming a strategic domain. Whether new tools lead to advanced cures or weapon proliferation depends on what we do today.
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