The Information's TITV
00:12:22 · Stephanie Palazzolo, Anne Wojcicki
[00:12:22] S0: And talk to me about the process of training this sort of DNA language model. I imagine a big part of it is using a different, you know, different training data sets than the ones that are probably used for... [00:12:33] S5: Yeah. We're not...... Flawed, but I mean, we're not... We're actively... So we did a bunch of work previously. And again, pre Chapter 11, we are doing a bunch of work, and that's where we published this paper on NeurIPS. We are actively looking now at what is that right path forward for us. So we're not doing anything today, but we're really focusing on, like, there's a huge amount of opportunities. We... We're working in small bits internally, but we think a lot about, like, who's the right partner for us? Where do we wanna be putting our efforts? Like, what are the first priorities? So one thing that we're doing a lot of work on now is, you know, actually getting whole genome data. So 23andMe works on SNP data, meaning, like, we look at a 100,000,000 variants in humans. As you start to get long read data and as you start to get the whole genome, you're gonna be able to make all kinds of new discoveries. So it's about get... Putting that right data set together. We'll identify the right partners, and then we'll start to move forward. [00:13:30] S0: Mhmm. Who... Like, what are some examples of, you know, partners that you would consider? Like, are these other model developers? Like, obviously, I know, like, Anthropic, for instance, has gotten very into AI for bio. Who might be some of the partners that you would think of
00:13:30 · Stephanie Palazzolo, Brittany Greenfield, Anne Wojcicki
[00:13:30] S0: Mhmm. Who... Like, what are some examples of, you know, partners that you would consider? Like, are these other model developers? Like, obviously, I know, like, Anthropic, for instance, has gotten very into AI for bio. Who might be some of the partners that you would think of [00:13:46] S4: to work [00:13:47] S0: with on this sort of thing? [00:13:48] S5: Interestingly, there hasn't... Like, when we went to NeurIPS, we were the only genetics paper there. And so that was last year. So it's been really interesting to see, you know, Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, like, everyone is coming. Like, everyone looks at biology and health care now, and it's super interesting to people. So there's a lot of really interesting players out there, you know, a lot of expertise in little pockets of some of these companies. I don't know. We'll have to see sort of like who makes the most sense. And I think for us as a nonprofit, what's always top priority for us is that mission. Like, are we doing... How can we fulfill the mission that our customers have entrusted us with? Like, I wanna really understand risk prediction. I wanna be able to give that information back to individuals. I wanna be able to predict disease because then you can actually do something about it and try to prevent.
00:13:48 · Anne Wojcicki, Stephanie Palazzolo
[00:13:48] S5: Interestingly, there hasn't... Like, when we went to NeurIPS, we were the only genetics paper there. And so that was last year. So it's been really interesting to see, you know, Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, like, everyone is coming. Like, everyone looks at biology and health care now, and it's super interesting to people. So there's a lot of really interesting players out there, you know, a lot of expertise in little pockets of some of these companies. I don't know. We'll have to see sort of like who makes the most sense. And I think for us as a nonprofit, what's always top priority for us is that mission. Like, are we doing... How can we fulfill the mission that our customers have entrusted us with? Like, I wanna really understand risk prediction. I wanna be able to give that information back to individuals. I wanna be able to predict disease because then you can actually do something about it and try to prevent. [00:14:37] S0: And I guess talking a bit about the business and the business model, obviously, you're a nonprofit now. I think a big concern in the past has been that perhaps the business model as even as a for profit wasn't necessarily sustainable. And I know you've talked a bit about cutting back on certain areas and really like kind of focusing on these key, on these kind of key areas for 23andMe now. But why is like a nonprofit the right way to go? And are are you concerned about some of these sustainability questions coming up now
00:15:08 · Anne Wojcicki
[00:15:08] S5: I think, as to be honest, I think there's like a there's a slight misunderstanding around 23andMe. And I think that there's, you know, the question I get that question a lot, and I... It's always interesting to understand the roots of where that comes from. If you look at most institutions that do research, and if you look at most biotechs, they do not make money. Like, while you are researching, it's like it's like building the foundation. You're like building the, you know, the foundation for your house. So when 23andMe, you know, came into issues in 2023, it's because we had put... We had built this incredible machine of a consumer business that allowed people to get, you know, affordable access to genetic data. We were working then with GSK on drug discovery. We had over 50 programs. We had this incredible AI genetic power discovery machine. And the biotech market collapsed. And, you know, half of biotech companies were trading under cash. So there was always... I think people sometimes confused, like, what is the business model? The business model for us was always about how do we have the most meaningful impact on genetic data and then return that back to our customers. That's about access to it, but it's also about discovery. So I think a lot of that question comes from when people didn't understand what the mission... Like, our mission was always on discovery, and discovery often does not lead to profitability for many, many years. So today, what's very different is like a research institute, someone like The Broad or Gladstone Institute, they are making a huge number of discoveries. They get grant funding, they get philanthropic dollars, and they do some pharma partnerships. And that is exactly what 23andMe will do. 23andMe has the consumer side still, which is very much about helping people get access to it. Affordability and easy access to lifesaving information is a huge mission for us. And then secondly, on the research side, we're looking for philanthropic donors. We will talk to, you know, government grant funders as well as, you know, pharmaceutical partnerships.
00:17:15 · Stephanie Palazzolo, Jessica Lessin
[00:17:15] S0: And, you know, when we talk about the mission that you're telling me about, what... What's... You know, what are some potential exciting discoveries that you're looking forward to that you think the genetic... That that you think that the genetic data that you have could unlock in the next five to ten years? [00:17:33] S1: I think... Look, I think that one of
00:17:33 · Jessica Lessin, Anne Wojcicki
[00:17:33] S1: I think... Look, I think that one of [00:17:35] S5: the most important things is people like my sister or, you know, parents of kids with rare disease, like, are always asking the question, why? And I think it's really hard when you don't know why. And I think that one of my hopes here is that 23andMe will be able to help people get that answer. And, you know, understanding if you have a genetic risk factor or if there are environmental components, like, what is it that you... You know, that potentially caused something? And I think that we have a we have a real opportunity of helping people understand that why. And I think the advantage of knowing that is then you can prevent for the next generation. And I think for all of us, like I look today, the people who can understand if they have a BRCA variant, and then you can have increased screening and prevent breast cancer, people who have, you know, familiar hypocholesterolemia and have just really high cholesterol, like those people can take a medication to actually reduce it. Like, it's a bit of, like, a... You know, like, an acceptance. Like, you can't necessarily just change that with environment. You have to take a a therapy for that. So my hope here is that, you know, people will be able to... We're really going to be able to answer that question as to why, and I think that we'll really be able to help people prevent.