Subvolts take Biohub uses AI to model biology and design proteins, aiming to cure disease. Jun 10, 2026 - Developers
- Learn about open-source tools for protein and antibody design that could accelerate biological research.
- Business
- Understand how large-scale, nonprofit initiatives are using AI to tackle major scientific challenges.
This episode features founders of a major research initiative discussing their ambitious goals and new AI tools for biology.
Biohub: The Future of Biology is Open-Source with Co-Founders Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan, and Head of Science Alex Rives
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From Subvolts
Summary and analysis by Subvolts editorial, AI-assisted.
This No Priors podcast episode features Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan, and Alex Rives discussing Biohub's mission to cure disease. They cover their $500 million initiative integrating AI with wet-lab biology to create predictive cell and protein models. The conversation also touches on their new open-source protein design engine, ESMFold2, and their nonprofit structure.
Imagine building a super-smart computer model of how our bodies work, down to tiny cells. Biohub is doing this with AI to understand and eventually fix diseases. This could help doctors treat people much more precisely.
This episode offers insight into how frontier AI is being applied to complex biological problems, a key area for major AI labs. Listeners will learn about Biohub's ambitious goals, their approach to building predictive biological models, and the potential for AI to accelerate scientific discovery. It's for anyone interested in the intersection of AI and life sciences, particularly how large-scale research initiatives are leveraging AI advancements.
- HostSarah Guo
- HostElad Gil
- GuestMark ZuckerbergCo-founder, Biohub
- GuestPriscilla ChanCo-founder, Biohub
- GuestAlex RivesHead of Science, Biohub
- Guest: Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan, Alex Rives
- Show: No Priors
- Length: 56 minutes
- Biohub Initiative Funding: $500 million
- Biohub Goal: Cure, prevent, and manage all disease by the end of the century
- New Product: ESMFold2
Biohub started with an ambitious goal of curing, preventing, and managing all disease by the end of the century. A decade later, thanks to the convergence of frontier AI and biological data, that goal may have been too conservative. In this episode, Elad Gil and Sarah Guo sit down with Biohub co-founders Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, alongside Biohub Head of Science Alex Rives. Together, they discuss Biohub’s $500 million virtual biology initiative, which integrates frontier AI with wet-lab work to build predictive world models of cells, proteins, and systems. They also talk about their newly announced open-source engine for digital protein and antibody design, ESMFold2; why Biohub is a nonprofit rather than a venture-backed startup; and how hierarchical simulations will soon allow doctors to treat patients at an individual, mechanistic level.
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Chapters:
00:00 – Cold Open
01:02 - Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan, and Alex Rives Introduction
01:26 – Why Biohub and Their Mission
08:27 – Integrating Frontier AI and Frontier Biology
09:45 – Micro to Macro Biological Modeling
14:22 – Mechanistic Interpretiability
16:58 – Why Biohub is a Non-Profit
21:41 – Understanding How Biology Works
24:23 – Timeline for Curing All Diseases
26:25 – Translating Research to Patient Impact
28:04 – Launch of ESMFold2
32:13 – Tackling Off-Target Effects and Edge Cases
38:39 – Putting the Tech in Individual Hands
41:06 – Talent at Biohub
44:25 – What’s Next After ESMFold2
46:10 – Connecting ESMFold2 to Agentic Systems
46:51 – The Virtual Cell
49:33 – Defining Success for Biohub
51:52 – Biohub Strategy Update
56:20 – Conclusion
- wet-lab
- Alex Rives
- biological experiments done in a laboratory
- mechanistic level
- Alex Rives
- understanding the precise biological processes involved
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Questions people ask
- What is Biohub's main goal?
- Biohub aims to cure, prevent, and manage all diseases by the end of the century, leveraging frontier AI and biological data.
- What is ESMFold2?
- ESMFold2 is Biohub's newly announced open-source engine for digital protein and antibody design.
Page generated Oct 19, 2026. Summaries are Subvolts' own; the audio, artwork and notes belong to Conviction.