S3 | E6 - Anton Jackson Smith (b.next) on building synthetic cells, programmable biology, and the future of biotech

Episode SummaryAnton Jackson Smith is a synthetic biologist, Stanford PhD, and founder of b.next—a startup building synthetic cells from scratch to make biology truly programmable. Think of it as rewriting life’s codebase, with applications ranging from cancer treatments and diagnostics to lab-grown foods and smart crops.In today’s episode, Anton breaks down what synthetic cells actually are (and why they matter), how his open-source platform Nucleus is changing the way biology is engineered, and why the future of medicine, agriculture, and climate tech might be written in DNA.We also dig into his journey, from coding in Queenstown and law school in Otago, to cutting-edge research in Silicon Valley, and how a random article on programmable E. coli changed everything.In this conversation, we cover:• How synthetic cells could power the next generation of therapeutics and diagnostics• Why biology needs its own “AWS moment” and how open source can unlock it• The real business model behind synthetic biology (and why it's not just science)• How Kiwi strengths in agriculture and biotech could shape a global future• What New Zealand needs to do to retain and return its brightest mindsAnton also shares his vision for a safer, more ethical bio-economy, and how we can build powerful new tools without repeating the mistakes of the past.Time Stamps01:21 What is a synthetic cell—and why should you care?06:44 How Anton fell into biology (thanks to an E. coli article in Vietnam)11:12 Why modifying real cells isn’t enough—and what BNext is doing differently16:30 The near-term use cases: cancer, diagnostics, and food22:47 How Nucleus is creating the open-source toolkit for biology30:14 Three phases of BNext’s business model: Boot → Build → Bazaar37:10 The big vision: programmable biology that saves lives44:18 What New Zealand’s biotech future could look like47:30 Returning talent, building bridges, and bringing brains back homeResources🙋🏻‍♂️ Anton Jackson Smith on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonjacksonsmith🧬 b.next : https://www.bnext.bioDiaspora.nz is part of Day One.Day One helps founders and startup operators make better business decisions more often. To learn more, join our newsletter to be notified of new Diaspora.nz episodes and upcoming shows.

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