DTN 105: Creating Supersoldiers and Curbing Biothreats

“We want to know: Why is this breakthrough going to work now versus three years ago or three years from now? Is it the technical insight? Does something now exist that didn’t before? Is it a change in costs or public policy? There are a lot of VCs out there with battle scars from the last cleantech bubble so we’re very mindful of timing… we make sure the scientific risk has been greatly reduced. Prime Movers Lab does not back science projects.”

“In many ways, Pilgrim’s work and vision underscore just how drastically unprepared we are for the looming — or, perhaps, already arrived — era of biological chaos. BioWatch’s unplugged sampling kiosks, easy access to lethal agents, and the continuing possibility of someone cooking up in their proverbial bedroom something far worse than COVID-19 all paint a fuzzy but ominous picture of our starkly apparent vulnerabilities. Jake, instead of feeling resigned to the glacial pace of theoretical research and horse-blinders-narrowed scope of traditional biotech pipelines, wants Pilgrim to attack these issues head-on with tangible, field-deployable solutions. While its relationship with the DoD is still informal, if Pilgrim is able to use the DoD as a launchpad, the company could shortcut bureaucratic holdups and get to the part where we start making supersoldiers and bringing the interface of Plague Inc. to life (before we start living in the latter’s live gameplay).”