20n YC Application
20n went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2015 batch as a Healthcare company. Below: what the company does, who founded it, and its application to YC, reconstructed question by question in the real YC form.
- YC batch
- Winter 2015
- Industry
- HealthcareIndustrial Bio
- Team size
- 2
- Status
- Inactive
- Launched
- 2014
Founders
Saurabh SrivastavaFounder/CEO
Chris AndersonFounder/CSO
What 20n does
The next decade is going to see a biotech revolution fueled by three technologies: ability to read DNA (sequencing), ability to write DNA (synthesis), and computational systems that predict what DNA to read and write. With sequencing and synthesis being mainstream now [1], 20n provides the computational systems that predict DNA design for novel industrial biotech and health applications. At 20n, we are taking a fresh look at turning biological data into information. We approach it as a big data learning problem, and bring to bear techniques from machine learning, distributed systems, AI planning, program synthesis, data mining, and natural language processing. With the support of DARPA [2], we are building a team of computer scientists, and bioengineers to look at biology in fundamentally new ways. Our current customers include industrial biotech firms that are leading the charge in transitioning us from traditional unsustainable means of manufacturing to sustainable biological processes leading to advanced fuels, materials, therapeutics, and flavors and fragrances. 20n’s technology helps them enter markets previously thought inaccessible for biology. [1] Sequencing DNA costs $4k/genome ( and is expected to go down to $1k/genome. Synthesizing DNA is at 20cents/bp, and is expected to go down to 0.1cents/bp. [2] DARPA in the past supported work that led to the internet, stealth planes, GPS, and even Douglas Engelbart’s mother-of-all-demos.
20n's YC application, reconstructed
Y Combinator application
20n, Winter 2015 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.
- Founders2
- Company7
- Progress7
- Idea4
- Equity3
- Curious2
- Batch Preference1
Company
20n
Using AI to predict biochemistry for manufacturing
We are building computational systems that use AI and machine learning to predict DNA designs for industrial biotech and therapeutics. Our product helps industrial biotech firms design biological systems that can produce fuels, materials, flavors, and medicines that were previously inaccessible by traditional methods.
We live in San Francisco, CA, and would base the company here after YC.
San Francisco has the technical talent and biotech ecosystem we need to grow. It keeps us close to early industrial biotech customers and partners.
21 more answers in the full application
Founders, Progress, Idea, Equity, Curious, Batch Preference are in the full version. Create a free account to open it in YC Insights, next to every other YC batch.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the real 20n YC application?
No. Y Combinator keeps submitted applications private. This is a reconstruction: the real YC form questions, answered from 20n's public data (launch notes, founder backgrounds, product description). It shows how a company like 20n would present itself to YC, not the text they submitted.
What YC batch was 20n in?
20n was part of the Y Combinator Winter 2015 batch.
Who founded 20n?
20n was founded by Saurabh Srivastava, Chris Anderson.
What does 20n do?
Using AI to predict biochemistry for manufacturing and therapeutics
How do I read the full reconstructed application?
Create a free Round Funded account. The full 26-answer version of 20n's application, and every other YC batch, is in YC Insights.
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