Check-in, coffee, informal networking with cohort peers and mentors

Program overview, cohort goals, and how to leverage SynBioBeta as an emerging founder

A curated lineup of leading biotech VCs, each delivering a 5-minute rapid-fire briefing covering: fund focus, investment thesis, selection process, and their most actionable advice for fundraising in the current market

Small rotating groups, high-touch conversations aligned by focus area

Lunch and off-the-record panel discussion with experienced founders on early-stage company building, fundraising realities, and deep tech bio lessons learned

Cohort close, special thanks to sponsors and investors, invitation to join the conference program

After a full day of cutting-edge biology, it’s time to laugh about it! Join viral comedian Austin Nasso for a special stand-up set crafted for the SynBioBeta crowd. Known for his sharp impressions and tech-adjacent humor, Austin brings a fast-paced show that pokes fun at startup culture, venture capital, AI hype, and, for the first time, the quirks of the biotech world. Expect an evening of high-energy comedy, insider bio-nerd jokes, and a chance to unwind with fellow founders, scientists, and investors. A perfect late-night break from programmable biology, because even the future of life sciences deserves a good laugh.

1. Ancient Grain, Engineered by Evolution: The Science and Future of Fonio by Pierre Thiam (Yolélé) 2. New Frontiers in Functional Food – matching Consumer Needs to Biotech Solutions by Alexandra Boelrijk (Kerry) 3. The Era of Precision Nutrition Powered by Precision Fermentation by Jim Flatt (DMC Biotech) 4. Harnessing the Power of Engineering Biology for the Sustainable Production of Functional Foods and Ingredients by Rodrigo Ledesma-Amaro (Imperial)

Food is no longer just sustenance—it’s becoming a programmable interface with human biology. Advances in synthetic biology and foodtech are enabling the design of bioactive molecules that target specific health outcomes: regulating glucose and lipid metabolism, strengthening cardiovascular resilience, and even enhancing cognitive performance. From engineered microbes that secrete beneficial metabolites to programmable synbiotics tuned to the gut, this session will explore how programmable biology is transforming food into a therapeutic platform. Panelists will ask: what if the next breakthroughs in managing obesity, dementia, and heart disease don’t come from pharmaceuticals, but from intelligently designed foods and functional ingredients?

Metabolic engineering is entering a new phase of programmability, evolving from mechanistic models toward AI-driven systems that can design, test, and refine biology with increasing autonomy. Early efforts to combine genome-scale modeling with machine learning began to improve genotype to phenotype prediction, hinting at a more predictive and designable biology. Today, that paradigm is advancing into a new layer. Agentic AI systems are beginning to orchestrate the full design, build, test, learn cycle. These platforms integrate experimental data, automation, and decision-making into continuous closed loop workflows, enabling faster iteration and more intelligent exploration of biological space. This session explores the next frontier of metabolic engineering, examining long standing bottlenecks such as limited data, combinatorial design complexity, and slow iteration cycles, and how AI native, end to end platforms are transforming pathway design, strain optimization, and scalable biomanufacturing.