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TIMELINE
00:00 Advancements in AI
00:25 AlphaFold2
05:24 Increasing Interest
08:34 Illumina's PrimateAI 3D
So Illumina unveils AI software to predict disease-causing genetic mutations in patients.
The AI boom has been mostly centered around the big AI companies NVIDIA, GOOGLE, MICROSOFT, OPENAI etc
That’s the space that everyone is watching. That’s where all the institutional money is flowing, but there is something else brewing just out of sight.
First, it’s important to understand how Google’s DeepMind solved protein folding.
And people are noticing this.
More and more attention is being paid to the biotech companies where neural networks can be used to accelerate progress.
People in this space believe that massive progress will be unlocked at the intersection of AI and Genetics.
Neural Networks are great at swallowing large, unmanageable amounts of raw data and spitting out valuable insights.
And that’s what a big part of Genomics is. It’s vast amounts of data.
That brings us back to Illumina.
It’s a massive company that is a global leader in genomic sequencing.
Genomic sequencing, is very basically, the process of making DNA readable.
So let’s say you have a blood sample or a spit sample, you run it through a machine to sequence it and on the other side you get the exact structure of your DNA.
Actual data you can read, print out on a piece of paper or feed into a database.
And there are now global efforts to sequence everyone and use AI to process the data.
And some smart people are taking note
Peter Thiel is a German-American billionaire entrepreneur, co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, he was the first outside investor in Facebook.
And he’s investing in Ultima genomics, a competitor to Illumina.
“Ultima Genomics is coming out of stealth mode after raising $600 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Peter Thiel’s Founder Fund…”
This was in 2022
Carl Icahn, the billionaire corporate Raider launched an attack on Illumina, buying up shares and trying to land some board seats.
This was 2023
Stanley Druckenmiller, who is considered one of the best investors of all time, recently added $25 million of Illumina to this portfolio.
This was May 2023, but this might be a lot more since there is a delay before they have to disclose their positions.
Now, a couple of points I have to make here.
One I own Illumina Shares, full disclaimer.
Two, I can’t predict stock price, I don’t pay attention to the price.
I just think “what would Warren Buffett do” and buy great companies and hold them forever.
With that said, I feel like we are going to start seeing more action in this space.
Bio-tech, specifically bio tech where AI can play a big role, will start growing at a faster rate.
Genomics, personalized medicine, modified organisms etc.