When Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Aloe Blacc got COVID despite being vaccinated and boosted, he tried to fund research for a better solution and quickly ran into a hard truth about biotech: you can’t just write a check and move science forward. Regulatory requirements, commercialization plans, and university IP rules mean even well-intentioned philanthropy doesn’t easily translate into clinical progress.
Now? Aloe is bootstrapping a cancer drug platform targeting pancreatic cancer and deliberately waiting to raise outside capital until peer-reviewed research can make the case for him.
On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan sits down with Aloe Blacc to talk about what happens when a creator steps into biotech, how AI is reshaping both drug discovery and music, and who actually stands to win in each industry’s transformation.
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Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:20 From musician to biotech founder
05:15 How COVID led to cancer research and PeptoID
08:00 Funding strategy and waiting for the right moment
11:00 AI’s role in drug discovery
15:20 AI is reshaping the music industry
18:40 Should artists get paid when AI trains on their work?
22:40 Using Suno to prototype music
26:55 Outro
