Michael Polansky is training an AI model on skin that’s still alive
techcrunch ·
Michael Polansky, co-founder and CEO of Outer Biosciences and partner of Lady Gaga, is training an AI model on living human skin tissue that the company keeps alive for up to a month. The tissue comes from discarded surgical skin via biobanks, and the startup uses a closed loop where AI predicts beneficial chemicals, tests them on the tissue, and feeds results back to improve predictions. Polansky, who previously worked at Bridgewater Associates and ran Sean Parker's family office, co-founded the company in 2022 with scientists to overcome the limitations of animal models and static cultures. Outer Biosciences is discovering cosmetic ingredients rather than drugs, so it does not need FDA approval, instead using OECD safety testing and licensing ingredients to beauty and pharma brands. The company has raised about $23 million, employs 19 people, and generates revenue through research partnerships. Polansky decided to go public with the company now because of the growing data and confidence, and the firm distinguishes itself by using real tissue instead of synthetic alternatives.
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