No Priors Ep. 34 | With Ginkgo Bioworks Co-Founder and CEO Jason Kelly

Ginkgo Bioworks is using DNA as code to digitize the cell programming revolution. Ginkgo is using AI and synthetic biology to keep the next pandemic at bay, and accelerate our production capabilities for medicine, food, and agriculture. Ginkgo’s co-founder and CEO Jason Kelly joins hosts Sarah Guo and Elad Gil to discuss bioengineering protein as a foundational model, specialized data learning from an evolutionary perspective, what we need to prepare for a future pandemic, and more. Jason has served as a member of our board of directors since Ginkgo’s founding in 2008. He has also served as a director of CM Life Sciences II Inc. (Nasdaq: CMII), a special purpose acquisition company with a focus on the life sciences sector, since its initial public offering in February 2021. Jason holds a Ph.D. in Biological Engineering and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 00:00 - Synthetic Biology and AI Revolution 06:47 - Abstraction Layers and AI in Bioengineering 14:54 - AI Applications in Biology and Pharma 19:48 - Rational Pandemic Response Program Building 31:42 - Discussion on AI, Evolution, and Architecture