Kent Kemmish, CEO of Molecular Reality, is developing Demonpore 64 – a nanopore-based molecular sensor marketed as a game console. Before he researched drosophila at Arizona Cancer Center and explored enzymes for breaking down age-related aggregates with Aubrey de Grey’s LysoSENS project. He also co-founded Halcyon Molecular and Synthego Inc, a top biotech unicorn specializing in CRISPR reagents today.
TechAcute Profile: Kent Kemmish
About yourself
This feels like an invitation to compose an autobiography. “How I came to be in the situation where I am now.” Very cinematic! Well, I am sitting in a little one-bedroom apartment in Mountain View with two cats and a dog, and some cool scientific instruments. How I came to be here… well, it’s an Epic Narrative that involves billionaires, historical injustices, advanced technologies, childhood dreams, heroic persistence, and curing aging.
About your company
AFAIK we’re the only startup in the world that’s leveraging gamified citizen science and an enthusiastic customer base to solve a major problem in biotech R&D: how to build utility-scale molecular sensing.
What problem in the world are you trying to solve?
How are you trying to solve this problem?
How does technology support you to achieve this goal?
We’ve been working with advanced forms of “solid-state nanopores” since 2015. You can read about it in some detail on our science page at www.molecularReality.com/science.
How does the technology work?
The best explanation can be heard early on in my recent interview on the Joe Roganoid Experiments, which you can find here on YouTube:
What are the milestones in your journey so far?
We got into Y Combinator, got a patent for an advanced molecular sensor, designed and tested a “molecular gaming console”, and built the world’s first scientific instrument control software that’s also a game.
How do you plan to grow and scale in the next 5 years?
With seed funding in the next few years, we will grow a “community of Player Scientists” who collectively will solve utility-scale molecular sensing. Then we will expand globally, post-IPO, as providers of hardware and services related to utility-scale molecular sensing.
How do you think will your market develop in the near and far future?
What challenges do you think might need to be addressed in your company very soon?
We need to find visionary angel investors who believe in and can see our unique value proposition.
How do you plan to overcome these challenges?
How does your business model work like?
Early on it’s based on revenue from memberships, with hardware leased to members. Later on, it’s hardware installed in people’s homes and a Comcast-like business model.
Finances
If you could give your younger self a word of advice, what would you recommend to yourself?
What would you suggest to someone who is yet to start their career in your industry?
Final remarks
Kent, thank you for your contribution to TechAcute Profiles. Your thoughts and insights are greatly appreciated. We look forward to seeing more from you.
Photo credit: The photo in the feature image has been provided by Kent Kemmish with permission to be used by TechAcute.
Editorial notice: The contents from the submitter for the TechAcute profile were minimally edited for style and for grammar.