Algen Biotechnologies YC Application

Winter 2020Active

Algen Biotechnologies went through Y Combinator in the Winter 2020 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 2020
Industry: HealthcareDrug Discovery and Delivery
Team size: 13
Status: Active
Launched: 2025

Founders

Chun-Hao HuangFounder
Christine DuFounder

What Algen Biotechnologies does

Algen is using CRISPR to uncover disease-driving RNA messages to find treatments for cancer, inflammation and diseases with high unmet needs. We are harnessing the power of CRISPR and machine learning to find first-in-class drugs that modulate RNA messages at single-cell resolution. Algen's founders are bioengineer from Jennifer Doudna Lab and biotech commercialization expert, teamed up with experienced pharmaceutical executives.

Algen Biotechnologies's YC application, reconstructed

Y Combinator application

Algen Biotechnologies, Winter 2020 batch. The real form questions, answered from public data.

Founders2
Company7
Progress7
Idea4
Equity3
Curious2
Batch Preference1

Company

Company name

Algen Biotechnologies

Describe what your company does in 50 characters or less.

Using CRISPR to find treatments for cancer and inflammation

What is your company going to make? Please describe your product and what it does or will do.

We are building a platform that uses CRISPR technology and machine learning to identify RNA messages driving diseases like cancer and inflammation at single-cell resolution. Our product helps uncover targets for first-in-class drugs that modulate RNA, enabling faster discovery of treatments for conditions with high unmet need.

Where do you live now, and where would the company be based after YC?

We live and work in San Francisco, CA, and the company will stay based here after YC.

Explain your decision regarding location.

San Francisco offers access to biotech expertise, talent, and partners necessary for developing RNA-targeted therapies. Staying here allows us to continue building with the team we've assembled and deepen local industry connections.

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.

See full application

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this the real Algen Biotechnologies YC application?

No. Y Combinator keeps submitted applications private. This is a reconstruction: the real YC form questions, answered from Algen Biotechnologies's public data (launch notes, founder backgrounds, product description). It shows how a company like Algen Biotechnologies would present itself to YC, not the text they submitted.