When Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Aloe Blacc got COVID despite being vaccinated and boosted, he tried to fund research for a better solution and quickly ran into a hard truth about biotech: you can\u2019t just write a check and move science forward. Regulatory requirements, commercialization plans, and university IP rules mean even well-intentioned philanthropy doesn\u2019t easily translate into clinical progress.<\/p>\n
Now? Aloe is bootstrapping a cancer drug platform targeting pancreatic cancer and deliberately waiting to raise outside capital until peer-reviewed research can make the case for him.<\/p>\n
On this episode of TechCrunch\u2019s Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan sits down with Aloe Blacc to talk about what happens when a creator steps into biotech, how AI is reshaping both drug discovery and music, and who actually stands to win in each industry\u2019s transformation.<\/p>\n
Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. <\/p>\n
Chapters: <\/p>\n
00:00 Intro <\/p>\n
01:20 From musician to biotech founder <\/p>\n
05:15 How COVID led to cancer research and PeptoID <\/p>\n
08:00 Funding strategy and waiting for the right moment <\/p>\n
11:00 AI’s role in drug discovery <\/p>\n
15:20 AI is reshaping the music industry <\/p>\n
18:40 Should artists get paid when AI trains on their work? <\/p>\n
22:40 Using Suno to prototype music <\/p>\n
26:55 Outro<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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