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Designs regulatory DNA that outperforms DeepMind for safer, more precise gene therapies.
Company Overview
Competitors
AI-Native Genomics
Dyno Therapeutics (AAV capsid design), Profluent Bio (protein/gene editing AI), Basecamp Research (biodiversity-driven genomics).
Traditional Gene Therapy Tools
Genscript, Twist Bioscience (DNA synthesis).
Big Tech AI for Biology
Google DeepMind (AlphaGenome, AlphaFold), Microsoft Research (biological foundation models).
Academic Platforms
Broad Institute (Malinois model), UCSF gene therapy programs.
Origin
's Moat:
Axis model outperforms DeepMind's AlphaGenome by 6.7% on regulatory DNA activity prediction. Free API access for researchers builds a community moat while pharma partnerships monetize. Proprietary training data on enhancer and promoter sequences is the core barrier; Dr. Manolis Kellis (MIT, 85K+ citations) as advisor adds scientific credibility.
How They're Leveraging AI
AI Use Overview:
Using generative DNA sequence design with transformers, self-improving biological data loops, and predictive off-target risk modeling for safety.
CellType
Simulates human biology with AI to predict drug effects and run virtual trials.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai highlighted their C2S-Scale 27B model for generating a novel cancer hypothesis that was later validated experimentally. CellType simulates human biology to predict drug effects using foundation models presented at ICML 2024, with all deals coming inbound from top-10 pharma. Yale professor turned down Google to build it.
Ditto Biosciences
Mines parasite genomes to discover protein therapeutics for autoimmune diseases.
Parasites evolved to suppress human immune responses over millions of years. Ditto mines their genomes for immunomodulatory proteins, and over 98% of those proteins remain uncharacterized. Three PhDs from Harvard, Berkeley, and UCSF with 40+ years of combined expertise in host-parasite biology.
Mango Medical
Automates surgical planning for orthopedic procedures from CT scans using agentic AI.
Surgical planning for shoulder replacements takes hours of manual CT scan interpretation. Mango automates it in seconds via API, already past $500K ARR before demo day, with an 8-figure LOI from a leading orthopedic company. Only company in YC W26 pursuing FDA 510(k) clearance.
