🧬 Venture Studio Model: Building the Future of AI Drug Discovery | Mati Gill (3/4)
June 22, 2026
Jon Chee sits down with Mati Gill, CEO of AION Labs — an Israeli venture studio backed by AstraZeneca, Merck, Pfizer, Teva, AWS, and the Israel Biotech Fund. Mati breaks down how AION Labs builds AI-native pharma companies from the ground up: industry-grade problem statements, multidisciplinary teams, and pharma partner POC commitments locked in before a startup is formed.
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"I said we're not signing the investment agreement until you either commit or identify a top employee that speaks the language of the customers that you're going to innovate for."
"I said we're not signing the investment agreement until you either commit or identify a top employee that speaks the language of the customers that you're going to innovate for."
Jon Chee sits down with Mati Gill, CEO of AION Labs — an Israeli venture studio backed by AstraZeneca, Merck, Pfizer, Teva, AWS, and the Israel Biotech Fund. Mati breaks down how AION Labs builds AI-native pharma companies from the ground up: industry-grade problem statements, multidisciplinary teams, and pharma partner POC commitments locked in before a startup is formed.
Key Topics Covered:
- Israel's Bio-Convergence Policy: How the IIA identified a market failure and built the incentive structure behind AION Labs.
- Venture Studio vs. Traditional VC: Why AION Labs builds deal flow systematically and why pharma R&D expert time outweighs capital.
- Problem Statement Discipline: What makes a challenge worth building a company around, and why POC commitment must come first.
- Multidisciplinary Teams: The lesson from AION Labs' first shutdown — cross-disciplinary hiring is required before any investment closes.
- Operational Infrastructure First: How pre-approved MSAs and a shared AWS cloud give startups pharma data access on day one, not year two.
- Platform vs. Single Asset: Why AION Labs only backs platform technologies and how Insitro's Combinable acquisition proves it.
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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 — Wikipedia Overview: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AION_Labs
Israel's Bio-Convergence Strategy: https://innovationisrael.org.il/en/article/bio-convergence-israels-next-growth-engine/
Hatch-Waxman Act Overview: https://phrma.org/blog/40-years-of-hatch-waxman-what-is-the-hatch-waxman-act
How Biotech Partnerships Support R&D: https://www.excedr.com/blog/how-biotech-partnerships-support-research
PhaseV Raises $50M for AI Clinical Trials: https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/phasev-scores-50m-ai-clinical-trial-platform
What Corporate Investors Look for in Life Sciences Startups: https://www.excedr.com/blog/what-corporate-investors-look-for-in-life-sciences-startups
Companies, Universities, & People Mentioned:
AION Labs: https://aionlabs.com/
Teva Pharmaceuticals: https://www.tevapharm.com/
Weizmann Institute of Science: https://www.weizmann.ac.il/pages/
BioMed X Institute: https://bmedx.com/
Israel Innovation Authority: https://innovationisrael.org.il/en/
Pfizer: https://www.pfizer.com/
AstraZeneca: https://www.astrazeneca.com/
Merck (Germany): https://www.merckgroup.com/
Amazon Web Services: https://aws.amazon.com/
Israel Biotech Fund: https://ibf.fund/
aMoon: https://www.amoon.fund/
Mobileye: https://www.mobileye.com/
DenovAI: https://denovai.com/
PhaseV: https://www.phasevtrials.com/
Christian Tidona (CEO, BioMed X): https://de.linkedin.com/in/tidona
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
02:07 Building Continuity with Academic and Industry Partners
04:26 Teva's Third Innovation Pillar: Seeding AI Capabilities in Israel
07:46 Israel's Bio-Convergence Policy and the IIA's Role
09:52 Stars Align: Personal, Company, and National Timing
10:48 AION Labs' Mission and Three Core Goals
12:50 Venture Studio vs. Traditional VC Model
15:30 POC Commitment Before a Startup Is Built
18:34 What Works and Doesn't on Problem Statements
24:14 Platform Technology vs. Single Asset Philosophy
27:23 Team Composition and the Multidisciplinary Imperative
28:36 Pharma Partnerships: POC Sign-Off and Contract Infrastructure
46:03 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.