Kambiz Shekdar owns the platform technology behind Chromovert, a method for engineering cells that model human disease inside a lab dish. He built the company on customer funding alone, without venture capital, and is now scaling a second company across the US, UAE, and China.
In this episode, he talks with Jens about the science behind the platform, the path to becoming the first recipient of the UAE's inventor Golden Visa, and what drives him beyond the technology itself.
Highlights:
00:00 Welcome and Setup
00:17 Music Meets Science
02:59 Creativity and Genetics
04:59 Growing Up Worldwide
05:55 UAE Energy and Opportunity
07:30 Golden Visa Origin Story
10:58 Chromovert Breakthrough
13:25 How Chromovert Works
15:24 From Patent to Company
16:46 Customer-Funded Growth
19:33 Scaling the Platform
21:13 GPCR Drug Discovery Funnel
24:47 AI and Better Data
29:18 UAE vs Boston vs China
31:39 Funding Paths and Defense
36:46 COVID and Biodefense Use
43:02 LinkedIn Live Interviews
46:46 Building Great Teams
50:20 Closing Thanks and Wrap
Guest links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kambiz-shekdar-51a52a34/
Business: https://www.secondcellbio.com/
Jens Links:
https://www.jensheitland.com/links
