Pharmaceutical Superintelligence With Alex Zhavoronkov
In this episode of FYI, Chief Futurist, Brett Winton, and Analyst Nemo Marjanovic speak with Alex Zhavoronkov, founder and CEO of Insilico Medicine. Together, they explore the promise of artificial intelligence in transforming the drug discovery process—cutting years off timelines and dramatically reducing costs. Alex shares Insilico’s journey from algorithm-first beginnings to a full-stack AI-driven biotech company, highlighting their unique “pan flute” model approach to drug development and the vision of building a “pharmaceutical superintelligence.” The discussion touches on Insilico’s clinical progress, including a molecule that recently completed a Phase 2 trial, and how its generative platforms are helping to tackle complex diseases with a focus on longevity.Key Points From This Episode:00:00:00 AI's promise in streamlining the drug discovery process00:03:06 The economics of preclinical development and AI’s role in optimization00:04:43 Potential cost and timeline reductions: $2.4B down to $600M, 13 years to 800:07:39 Comparing Insilico’s approach to peers like Recursion and AbSci00:10:35 Literature-driven vs. biology-driven models in drug discovery00:13:07 Why a dominant AI platform could reshape biotech industry consolidation00:14:57 Why biologics may be more suited to AI than small molecules00:17:35 Alex Zhavoronkov on founding Insilico and his mission in longevity science00:21:00 From algorithms to real drugs: Insilico’s transition to clinical development00:23:15 Managing the pace of AI progress vs. the slow cycle of experimental validation00:27:10 How “pharmaceutical superintelligence” enables prompt-to-drug workflows00:32:26 Validation, trust, and why Insilico runs on both old and frontier models00:39:22 The “pan flute” architecture: stacking specialized models with reinforcement learning00:42:36 Building and training a unified multimodal model for chemistry and biology00:45:32 Public data, clean pipelines, and Insilico’s automated validation lab00:50:47 The business model behind Insilico: selling candidates and licensing platforms00:55:12 Why pharma buyers care more about data room quality than pricing01:00:25 On profitability, licensing success, and the dream of a self-sustaining AI biotech01:01:38 Longevity and the search for fundamental mechanisms of aging
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From Customer Service To The Classroom – AI Agents Are Coming For It All With Alan Bekker
Brett Winton and ARK analyst Jozef Soja dive deep into the rapidly evolving world of AI agents—software entities that are increasingly automating enterprise functions like customer support. They explore why AI agents are gaining traction, how they’re priced, and the potential for a new kind of agent-versus-agent arms race between companies and consumers. Later in the episode, they’re joined by Dr. Alan Bekker, founder of eSelf.ai and former Head of Conversational AI at Snap, who shares his journey from building voice agents for call centers to launching a real-time, face-to-face AI tutoring platform. Alan offers insights into how the rise of large language models (LLM) is reshaping education, what makes a great AI tutor, and why a visual, embodied presence is crucial for learning.Key Points From This Episode:00:00:00 What enterprise AI agents actually do and how companies like Salesforce are pricing them00:03:41 Why $2 per AI conversation may already undercut human support costs00:05:04 The Return On Investment (ROI) model behind agent adoption and enterprise productivity00:06:41 Why agent-based software may retain higher pricing power than other AI tools00:09:11 The coming arms race: AI agents negotiating with other AI agents00:12:30 Scaling demand for customer service with intelligent automation00:15:04 Vertical vs. horizontal Software as a Service (SaaS) in the AI agent ecosystem00:16:43 AI’s impact across the software stack—SaaS, Platform as a Service (PaaS) , and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)00:17:56 Why building your own AI apps may soon be cheaper than onboarding SaaS00:20:01 ARK's internal hackathon and how non-engineers are becoming developers00:20:29 Guest: Dr. Alan Bekker joins to discuss the evolution of conversational AI00:22:04 The journey from decision trees to LLMs: Lessons from Snap’s AI team00:27:32 Seeing GPT’s impact from inside: OpenAI’s early partner outreach00:31:47 Why face-to-face AI tutors found strong product-market fit in education00:33:59 eSelf’s go-to-market strategy: Partnering with publishers as a business to business to consumer (B2B2C) wedge00:36:24 Pricing real-time AI tutoring tools in a margin-conscious market00:40:00 Business to consumer (B2C) aspirations: Moving toward a direct-to-student tutoring product00:44:56 What’s still missing for real-time AI to match human-level teaching00:48:03 The psychological impact of avatars: Building trust through embodied agents00:51:43 Why personalization—not just LLM knowledge—matters in tutoring00:54:20 Democratizing learning: LLMs as the end of expert-driven education
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Stablecoins And Circle's IPO | The Brainstorm EP 91
In this episode, Sam Korus discusses stablecoins with Lorenzo Valente and Raye Hadi. They explore the definition of stablecoins, their impact on the US dollar, and the competitive dynamics between major players like Tether and Circle. The conversation delves into the role of stablecoins in emerging markets, their business models, and the potential convergence with AI transactions. They also address concerns regarding stability, privacy, and the future of stablecoins in the financial ecosystem.If you know ARK, then you probably know about our long-term research projections, like estimating where we will be 5-10 years from now! But just because we are long-term investors, doesn’t mean we don’t have strong views and opinions on breaking news. In fact, we discuss and debate this every day. So now we’re sharing some of these internal discussions with you in our new video series, “The Brainstorm”, a co-production from ARK and Public.com. Tune in every week as we react to the latest in innovation. Here and there we’ll be joined by special guests, but ultimately this is our chance to join the conversation and share ARK’s quick takes on what’s going on in tech today.Key Points From This Episode:Stablecoins are pegged to a dollar value to reduce volatility.Tether and Circle dominate the stable coin market with 85% share.Emerging markets are increasingly using stablecoins for transactions.The business model of stablecoins relies on reserve backing and transaction fees.Stablecoins can unlock significant amounts of dead capital in emerging markets.AI agents may prefer stablecoins for their programmable nature.Concerns about de-pegging and liquidity are prevalent in the market.The future of stablecoins could be expansive if regulatory frameworks support them.Stablecoins are currently about 1% of the US money supply.The potential for stablecoin supply to grow to 1.5 trillion in the next five years.For more updates on Public.com:Website: https://public.com/YouTube: @publicinvestX: https://twitter.com/public
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Speed Running Mary Meeker's AI Trends | The Brainstorm EP 90
In this episode, Nicholas Grous and Sam Korus are joined by ARK Chief Futurist, Brett Winton, to delve into the Mary Meeker AI Trends Report, discussing the rapid adoption of AI technologies, the evolving role of AI in trust and validation, and the changing landscape of search behavior. They explore the monetization of AI, the investment landscape, and the future of autonomous vehicles, concluding with a positive outlook on AI's trajectory.If you know ARK, then you probably know about our long-term research projections, like estimating where we will be 5-10 years from now! But just because we are long-term investors, doesn’t mean we don’t have strong views and opinions on breaking news. In fact, we discuss and debate this every day. So now we’re sharing some of these internal discussions with you in our new video series, “The Brainstorm”, a co-production from ARK and Public.com. Tune in every week as we react to the latest in innovation. Here and there we’ll be joined by special guests, but ultimately this is our chance to join the conversation and share ARK’s quick takes on what’s going on in tech today.Key Points From This Episode:The rapid pace of AI adoption is unprecedented.AI is reshaping how we validate information and trust sources.Search behavior is evolving with the integration of AI.Monetization strategies for AI are becoming clearer.Investment in AI infrastructure is crucial for growth.Autonomous vehicles are on the brink of mainstream adoption.AI's role in education could revolutionize assessment methods.The competition between the US and China in AI is intensifying.Consumer behavior is shifting towards AI-driven solutions.Optimism about AI's future is warranted despite pessimistic narratives.For more updates on Public.com:Website: https://public.com/YouTube: @publicinvestX: https://twitter.com/public
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Google IO And Open AI’s $6.5 Billion Bet | The Brainstorm EP 89
In this episode, Nicholas Grous and Sam Korus discuss the recent Google I.O. event and OpenAI's significant acquisition, exploring the implications for generative AI and the competitive landscape between Google and Apple. They delve into Google's unified strategy for integrating AI across its ecosystem, the introduction of new tools for creators, and the potential future of AI hardware. The conversation highlights the challenges and opportunities for both tech giants as they navigate the evolving AI landscape.If you know ARK, then you probably know about our long-term research projections, like estimating where we will be 5-10 years from now! But just because we are long-term investors, doesn’t mean we don’t have strong views and opinions on breaking news. In fact, we discuss and debate this every day. So now we’re sharing some of these internal discussions with you in our new video series, “The Brainstorm”, a co-production from ARK and Public.com. Tune in every week as we react to the latest in innovation. Here and there we’ll be joined by special guests, but ultimately this is our chance to join the conversation and share ARK’s quick takes on what’s going on in tech today.Key Points From This Episode:Google's I.O. showcased a unified strategy for generative AI.The integration of AI into Android and Chrome is a key focus.Project Mariner aims to enhance browser capabilities with AI.Veo 3 represents a significant advancement in AI video generation.Generative AI tools are democratizing content creation.Apple needs to innovate quickly to stay competitive in AI.The future of AI hardware may not require screens.Privacy concerns will shape the design of new AI devices.Google's consumer-facing products are still strong despite past failures.The competition between Google and Apple will define the AI landscape.For more updates on Public.com:Website: https://public.com/YouTube: @publicinvestX: https://twitter.com/public
The FYI - For Your Innovation Podcast offers an intellectual discussion on recent developments across disruptive innovation—driven by research, news, controversies, companies, and technological breakthroughs. Hosted by ARK Invest, ARK and guests provide a unique perspective on how to best understand disruptive innovation.
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