Liliana Nordbakk on Building AI-Native Biology Companies

Most investors came to synthetic biology through biology. Liliana Nordbakk came through software. As Partner for Global Life Sciences at NEVA SGR and co-founder of Kamau Therapeutics, she has spent years arguing that the genome operates like code, subject to the same principles of design, debugging, and iteration that govern software development. In an exclusive conversation ahead of SynBioBeta 2026, where she will present "Programming the Genome: AI-Native Biology for Precision Medicines," Nordbakk explained how that framing is reshaping the way she finds, evaluates, and builds biotech companies.

Her journey runs through Munich, Dublin, and Silicon Valley. In 1986, Nordbakk co-founded NorCom Information Technology and grew it across European markets over nearly two decades before she took the company public. She later co-founded DreTec Software, a joint venture with Dresdner Bank, and eventually chaired the Life Sciences Group at Band of Angels, one of Silicon Valley's oldest angel networks, for more than thirteen years. It was there that her current investment thesis took shape.

"My route was through Silicon Valley entrepreneurship and investing," Nordbakk said. "What clicked for me was the 'software of life' lens. If the genome is code, with syntax, grammar, and execution rules, then we can read, simulate, and program cellular behavior. With modern AI, that becomes practical, turning biology into something we can reason about and invest in with greater predictability."

That perspective has shaped her focus around what she calls AI-native biology platforms, companies that combine genome engineering with machine learning models capable of designing and controlling biological functions. Increasingly, startups in this space treat DNA sequences and regulatory networks as programmable architectures, enabling iterative design cycles that look more like software development than traditional drug discovery.

Her board roles reflect the breadth of that thesis. She currently serves on the board of BetaGlue Therapeutics, holds an observer seat at Stylus Medicine, and chairs the audit committee at radiopharmaceutical company NUCLIDIUM AG. She is also an investor in Tr1X, an autoimmune-focused cell therapy company.

Nordbakk's clearest example of that thesis is Kamau Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company she co-founded following its spinout from Graphite Bio. Kamau is developing cures for genetic diseases using CRISPR editing and their deep expertise in homology-directed repair. Their lead program, nulabeglogene autogedtemcel (nula-cel), targets sickle cell disease by correcting the mutation in the hemoglobin gene responsible for the disorder. Unlike earlier approaches that have many off-target effects, Kamau's HDR technology repairs the mutation at its source to restore healthy hemoglobin production. In the first patient treated during a Phase 1/2 trial, the therapy significantly reduced sickle hemoglobin levels while increasing healthier hemoglobin types. The company's broader ambition is a programmable platform capable of addressing a wide range of genetic diseases.

Looking ahead, Nordbakk sees several technological shifts redefining the synthetic biology landscape over the next decade, among them foundation models trained on biological data, programmable gene regulation systems capable of controlling cellular behavior with spatial and temporal precision, and digital-twin manufacturing tools that simulate biomanufacturing processes before deployment.

For founders and investors navigating this field, her advice is pragmatic: design for learning velocity, build platforms that survive the realities of clinical development and manufacturing, and align AI capabilities with real therapeutic impact.

Those themes will anchor her SynBioBeta 2026 talk, "Programming the Genome: AI-Native Biology for Precision Medicines."