Arye Lipman cofounded Biosphere, a startup building UV-sterilized bioreactors that replace the 1950’s steam reactors to reduce biomanufacturing costs. Previously, he built a network of biotech labs for startups like Minicircle and invested in some of them. Biosphere came out of stealth this year through a USD $8.8 M seed round led by Lowercarbon Capital and VXI Capital, with participation from Founders Fund.
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In this episode we cover:
* Upbringing in the California countryside and falling for biology (0:00 - 2:44)
* Early start in biotech as part of the founding team of an antibodies company (2:52 - 03:35)
* Why he built a network of biotech labs and why it wasn’t a good business (03:52 - 8:52)
* Investing in biotech through Mars Bio (8:52 - 10:26)
* Deep dives into the biomanufacturing industry and why sterility is a key constrain in costs (10:27 - 13:41)
* Superstition in biotechnology and redesigning the bioreactor from the ground up (13:50 - 15:59)
* Scaling up to move the needle (16:02 - 16:45)
* How UV sterilization and cleaning compare to steam (16:54 - 18:00)
* Testing performance in plastic and other materials (18:12 - 19:00)
* Building both biotech software and hardware to generate feedback loops (19:14 - 21:09)
* What the DoD is doing with biotech and how Biosphere is working with them (21:26 - 24:28)
* Why they’re not too concerned about downstream innovation (24:51 - 26:40)
* The Biopunk vision of industrialized photosynthesis and the realistic future of taking over the chemical industry with industrialized biology (26:41 - 29:32)
* Especially if you’re young, take the risk. Join a biotech startup or found your own! (30:00 - 31:16)
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