🧬 The Rule of Three: Career, Family & One Other Thing | Mati Gill (1/4)
June 15, 2026
In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Jon Chee sits down with Mati Gill, CEO of AION Labs—a first-of-its-kind AI venture studio backed by Teva, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Merck, and Amazon Web Services. Before AION Labs, Mati spent six years in the IDF, ran a minister's bureau, and rose from legal intern to global legal COO at Teva over more than a decade. Part one covers the formative years: moving from Columbus, Ohio to Jerusalem at 12, extending military service by three years, and the two teachers who handed him D's and changed how he works.
🧬 The Biotech Startups Podcast is powered by Excedr—helping life science startups accelerate R&D and commercialization with founder-friendly equipment leasing. Skip the upfront costs, stay lean, and focus on breakthrough science.
As a TBSP listener, you can get exclusive perks through Excedr's partner network—special savings, promotions, and more. Explore these offers today: https://www.excedr.com/partners.
"Getting tough feedback, when it comes from a place of someone that wants to help you but is willing to tell you the brutal truth to help you learn and help you grow, is a gift, and not everyone is capable of doing that."
In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Jon Chee sits down with Mati Gill, CEO of AION Labs—a first-of-its-kind AI venture studio backed by Teva, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Merck, and Amazon Web Services. Before AION Labs, Mati spent six years in the IDF, ran a minister's bureau, and rose from legal intern to global legal COO at Teva over more than a decade. Part one covers the formative years: moving from Columbus, Ohio to Jerusalem at 12, extending military service by three years, and the two teachers who handed him D's and changed how he works.
Key Topics Covered:
- Columbus to Jerusalem: How a trial year in Israel at age 12 became a permanent, repeatedly chosen life.
- The Rule of Three: Mati's framework for building a career, prioritizing family, and committing to one other thing—without compromise.
- Two Teachers, Two D's: The English teacher who walked in like Robin Williams and the constitutional law professor who handed Mati a 60, and what both taught him about coasting.
- Six Years in the IDF: Why Mati signed up for three years beyond mandatory service and how those values still drive every major career decision.
- Law as a Foundation: How studying under Professor Amnon Rubinstein—a Knesset member who helped draft Israel's civil rights bills—built the analytical foundation Mati still draws on today.
If you enjoy The Biotech Startups Podcast, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing it with your friends. Thanks for listening.
Subscribe to the Podcast:
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-biotech-startups-podcast/id1679591994
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2PSL162R2s0zOwU5913Zv4
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@thebiotechstartupspodcast
Website: https://www.thebiotechstartupspodcast.com/
Find our guest, Mati Gill at these links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matigill/?originalSubdomain=il
Website: https://aionlabs.com/
Find our host, Jon Chee, at these links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee/
Learn more about Excedr:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/
Website: https://www.excedr.com
Intro & Outro Songs Created by OkKyojin, Owned by Excedr:
Website: https://flow.page/kyojin
Resources & Articles:
AION Labs — AI Venture Studio Overview: https://aionlabs.com/
Amnon Rubinstein — Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amnon_Rubinstein
Israel Innovation Authority — AI and Bioconvergence Programs: https://innovationisrael.org.il/en/
Top Equipment Needs in AI-Driven Drug Discovery Labs: https://www.excedr.com/blog/top-equipment-needs-in-ai-driven-drug-discovery-labs
20 Biotech Accelerators to Check Out: https://www.excedr.com/resources/biotech-accelerators
How to Spin Out of Academia and Into a Startup: https://www.excedr.com/resources/how-to-spin-out-of-academia-and-into-a-startup
Artificial Intelligence in the Development of New Drugs — Israel Innovation Authority: https://innovationisrael.org.il/en/drugdiscoveryai2024/
Companies, Universities, & People Mentioned:
AION Labs: https://aionlabs.com/
Teva Pharmaceuticals: https://www.tevapharm.com
Pfizer: https://www.pfizer.com
AstraZeneca: https://www.astrazeneca.com
Merck: https://www.merck.com
Amazon Web Services: https://aws.amazon.com
Israel Biotech Fund: https://ibf.fund
Israel Innovation Authority: https://innovationisrael.org.il/en/
Amnon Rubinstein: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amnon_Rubinstein
Robert F. Kennedy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_F._Kennedy
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
04:40 Columbus to Jerusalem: Moving at 12
06:43 A Trial Year That Became a Permanent Life
08:31 Parents, Education, and the Jewish Career Joke
09:52 Choosing Law Over Science
12:44 The Rule of Three: Career, Family, and One Other Thing
15:56 Six Years in the IDF and Extending Beyond Mandatory Service
17:17 Law School, Constitutional Law, and Professor Amnon Rubinstein
19:35 The D That Changed Everything
21:35 David Berman and the Dead Poets Society Moment
23:32 Brutal Feedback as a Gift
25:56 Outro
The Biotech Startups Podcast gives you a front-row seat to the business and science of building a biotech. Hosted by Jon Chee, CEO of Excedr, the show features honest conversations with founders, execs, and investors about their work, their companies, and how they got there. From scientific breakthroughs to startup lessons, each episode explores what it really takes to grow a life science company—from pre-seed to IPO.