tips for the first meeting with a VC: we will focus primarily on (1) the team, (2) the clinical need, and (3) how solid is the science #quick_notes_LP

THE INSIDE STORY OF AN INVESTMENT/ We are proud to announce that our portfolio company ESOBIOTEC is to be acquired by ASTRAZENECA in a landmark early-stage deal totaling $1B ($425M upfront), only 16 months after our investment. Read here:

PORTFOLIO NEWS/ I’m proud to announce the first investment from our new fund, Invivo Ventures III. Neumirna Tx has secured a €20M Series A, led by Invivo Partners and Angelini Ventures (corporate arm of Angelini Pharma), to develop RNA-based therapies for drug-resistant epilepsy

RT @hospitalclinic: 🏥🚀 Vine a les jornades del #CampusClínicInnova 2024 on ponents destacats parlaran sobre innnovació en salut:. ✔️ Dissen….

RT @laurg87: Engaging discussion on challenges, trends, and value drivers shaping the C&GT space, and the potential growth opportunities i….

RT @Menendez_Lab: Lovely summary by Drs Luis Pareras and Cinta Díez at @InvivoPartners in interesting strategies to bypass T cell dysfunct….

RT @StartupArchive_: Sam Altman: “Hire for values first, aptitude second, and skills third.”. Most executive recruiters, Sam argues, will r….

PODCAST/ Here’s my conversation with Christian @Soschner where we talk about AI, Synbio, Art, and the Future of Mankind. Below is the original post from Christian with the full video (a little over 2 hours). CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE EPISODE:.

10. Energy, not compute, will become the primary bottleneck: A gigawatt—akin to running a nuclear plant dedicated solely to training—hasn't been attempted.

9. A New Kind of Science: Unprecedented progress in fields such as quantum mechanics, astronomy, energy, physics, etc., is being driven by AI's application in solving complex scientific problems (would solving the Riemann hypothesis be a valid test of true creative intelligence?).

8. Understanding Emergence: Exploring how consciousness arises from complexity helps explain why AI is so effective at replicating human intelligence.

7. Safety: As we race towards breakthroughs, red teaming and stringent regulatory oversight are essential to navigate the risks, especially in AI and synbio. The race to AGI brings an economic incentive and a prisoner's dilemma scenario.

6. Ethics: The field is rife with ethical dilemmas, from how to deal with fake news and societal changes due to employment disruption, to the ethics of dealing with new intelligences with rights.

5. Physical Intelligence & Robotics: Embodied LLMs in robots are poised to be the next major market sensation. This field will explode, much like smartphones did, with potential sales reaching billions as robotics become ubiquitous.

4. Synbio fusion with AI: No synbio company will thrive without AI. Both will enable the creation of new metabolic pathways & designed cells capable of performing functions beyond our imagination.

However, generating intelligence does not necessitate complexity; the brain's operations are fundamentally mathematical, which is unsettling as it implies we are “merely” biological machines as well.

3. Reverse Engineering Brain Signals: The brain is not complex because it needs to be complex to host intelligence and consciousness. Brain's complexity arises because evolution cannot go back, and has continually added layers of retro and forward control over millions of years.

2. Reasoning Agents: Recursive voices with emerging consciousness, AGI and subsequently ASI, may not require embodiment, but embodying these agents can further accelerate progress by providing a wealth of new data for model training.

1. utting edge is not in using transformers to predict the next word (LLMs) but in using multimodal transformers to predict reality. SORA now has a model of the physical world (accurate in terms of its underlying physics) developed by “looking” at the world, exactly as a newborn.

The next 5 years in AI (plus Synthetic Biology)/ To understand the 21st century, one must understand where AI & synthetic biology are heading. Here are 9 leading-edge areas that will transform our world (prepared for an ESADE lecture where I will develop them at full length).

INVIVO III/ Thrilled to announce we are preparing the closing of III fund, aiming for €100-120M (cell & gene therapy + synthetic biology + AI). @laurg87 is now Partner. Having Laura is a privilege; she stands out as one of the most talented individuals I have ever encountered.