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Bio & pandemic risk

Prevent engineered and natural pandemics from ending civilization.

problems: 1humans affected: 8.1Bcompanies on it: 4capital sources: 3voices: 2

COVID-19 demonstrated the tail risk from a single pathogen; cheap gene synthesis raises the ceiling. The tractable agenda is pathogen-agnostic detection, broad-spectrum countermeasures, far-UVC sterilization, rapid-vaccine platforms, and global stockpiles capable of reaching every human in weeks.

lead voice

80,000 Hours · biosecurity profile →

Problems in this sector

1 ranked
x-risk frontierBiosecurity & pandemic preparedness

Prevent engineered and naturally-emerging pandemics from wiping out humanity or crippling civilization.

humans8.1B

Companies on it

4 mapped →
Ginkgo Bioworkspublic

Cell programming platform. Biosecurity Division runs metagenomic surveillance and pathogen detection at scale.

$350M
Modernapublic

mRNA platform company. Pandemic preparedness via rapid vaccine development, plus pipeline in malaria, HIV, and rare disease.

$10.5B
Nucleic Acid Observatoryresearch

Sentinel surveillance using metagenomic sequencing of wastewater to detect novel pathogens before they spread.

private · no disclosed cap
Colossal Biosciencesprivate

De-extinction and genetic engineering. Biosecurity adjacency via rapid genome editing and cold-chain logistics.

$10.2B

Capital on it

3 allocators →

Founders Fund

Venture Capital

Contrarian hard tech that rebuilds the industrial base.

a16z American Dynamism

Venture Capital

National-interest technology, aerospace, defense, manufacturing, public safety.

Lux Capital

Venture Capital

Counter-conventional science at the edges of physics and biology.

Voices

2 thinkers →
Patrick CollisonTrae Stephens

Further reading