In this episode, we go inside the creation of Xaira Therapeutics — the biotech startup that raised over a billion dollars at launch without a product or clinical data.
Speaking with Vik Bajaj, CEO and co-founder of Foresite Labs (and one of the people behind Xaira’s creation), Surani explores how Xaira’s approach could redefine biotech company building, why it’s different from typical AI hype, and what makes it such a bold bet.
We follow Vik’s journey from academia to Google to Grail, and then into biotech investing with Foresite Labs, uncovering how a unique incubator model led to Xaira’s launch. From the big idea to the billion-dollar financing, we unpack what’s really happening behind the headlines.
Timestamps:
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00:00 – Introduction: Why Xaira’s billion-dollar launch matters
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01:00 – Vik Bajaj’s journey from academia to Google and Grail
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04:00 – Moving from big tech to biotech: lessons and perspective
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06:00 – Founding Foresite Labs and its unique model for biotech incubation
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08:00 – Why data generation is key in biotech AI
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09:00 – Foresite’s approach: building data, tools, and teams from scratch
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11:00 – The origins of Xaira: ideation, science, and assembling the team
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13:00 – Bringing in David Baker’s advanced protein design technology
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16:00 – Early team building and leveraging Grail and Illumina networks
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17:00 – Xaira’s $1B+ fundraising: why it happened and what it means
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20:00 – Why Xaira needed so much capital up front
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21:30 – What separates Xaira from other AI drug discovery companies
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22:30 – The ambition to build a foundation model of the cell (GPT for biology)
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23:00 – De novo design: creating antibodies from scratch
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24:30 – Building products and platforms in parallel — not sequentially
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26:00 – Where Xaira is today and Foresite’s ongoing role
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27:00 – Vik’s vision for success: timelines and goals for Xaira
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28:00 – Reflections: Can Xaira’s model really change how biotech is built?
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29:00 – Outro: What to watch next, and how to support the podcast
For any comments, questions, feedback or suggestions you can connect directly with Surani Fernando on LinkedIn or email: raisingbiotech@gmail.com
Title music composed by: Yrii Semchyshyn (Coma Media)