David Friedberg on AI-First Startups & the Future of Biology, Business & Creativity | AI Basics with Google Cloud

This Week in Startups

Jason Calacanis

Technology

4.4 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 22 May 2025

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, Jason chats with David Friedberg—CEO of Ohalo Genetics and co-host of the All-In Podcast—about how AI is transforming agriculture and startups. David introduces Ohalo’s "Boosted Breeding" technology, which enables plants to inherit 100% of genes from both parents, potentially doubling crop yields. They also discuss building AI-first companies, genome language models, and the future of creativity in an AI-driven world.

Timestamps:

(0:00) David Friedberg joins Jason to discuss AI Basics.

(1:44) How AI leveled up hiring and operations at startups

(5:46) AI and economic opportunities, complex problem-solving, and leadership's role

(11:48) How to build an AI-first company culture

(16:48) AI's transformative impact on biology and DNA sequencing

(21:36) The “GLM” - GPT for DNA Is already in production

(23:17) Biology meets AI: designing perfect plants with CRISPR and genome models

(32:08) Is the “Age of Abundance” around the corner?

(35:56) Democratization of creativity through AI: personalized Star Wars musicals & the future of media

Uncover more valuable insights from AI leaders in Google Cloud's 'Future of AI: Perspectives for Startups' report. Discover what 23 AI industry leaders think about the future of AI—and how it impacts your business. Read their perspectives here: https://goo.gle/futureofai

Check out all of the Startup Basics episodes here: https://thisweekinstartups.com/basics

Check out Google Cloud: https://cloud.google.com/

Check out Ohalo: https://www.ohalo.com/

Follow David:

X: https://x.com/friedberg

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidfriedberg/

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X: https://twitter.com/Jason

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis

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Substack: https://twistartups.substack.com

Transcript

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0:00.0	All right, everybody, welcome back to this week in startups.
0:06.5	We like to do our basic series.
0:08.4	What's our basic series?
0:09.5	Well, entrepreneurs ask us all the time, how do I get this blocking and tackling these tactics done?
0:15.3	Well, one of my besties from the Allent podcast, David Freiburg, is with us today.
0:19.2	He's run multiple companies.
0:20.5	He's invested in
0:21.4	dozens of companies, and he is an expert on all things, technology science, and of course,
0:27.5	AI. He's running O'Holloholog Genetics. He founded it in 2019 when he was the CEO of the
0:32.6	production board. That was his incubator startup lab. David, welcome to the program. That was your most successful of the
0:39.8	cohort. You had like two or three really good ones come out of the studio, and O'Hollo was the one
0:43.5	that objectively you felt most passion towards personally, and that had the best future chance.
0:49.1	I mean, I don't want you to pick your favorite baby here, but...
0:51.1	Yeah, I mean, we had a couple projects that we shut down. We have a few that are still going.
0:55.5	And then O'Halo is just a very special company that had these very important breakthroughs,
0:59.9	where we changed how plants can be used for plant breeding using CRISPR-type tools.
1:07.7	So that's created a new system for plant breeding, unlocked tremendous yield potential,
1:12.7	which is the key driver for agriculture, and unlocks the ability to make seed in crops where you
1:17.1	can't make seed. And so the general kind of storyline is this becomes a huge game changer for the
1:23.5	entire tea of agriculture. And so it was so important where we had these breakthroughs.
1:28.2	I said, we can't mess this up. I'm really committed to making sure this company succeeds.
1:32.3	I have to make sure it reaches its potential. So I stepped in in November of 23 as the full-time CEO.
	...

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