Why are you convinced you need to open biology up to engineers? Is that currently not the case?
The fact is you really can't do much with a PCR machine. Sure, you can identify your friends boogers. But it only reduces one tiny aspect of overall cost. Add a centrifuge, a flow cytometer, a gel box, some incubators, and then maybe you have a functional 'garage' lab.
But again, you don't achieve much by having immediate in vitro sequencing. Not sure what the point is.
The real barrier then is literally funding and the capacity to do the research. And that's exactly what my startup is doing.
Without revealing too much of what I am doing, this doesn't really solve any existing problems. Honestly, Intellectual Ventures is better than this in that they get straight to the point. They will just buy your IP for some ridiculous amount of money, whether it's from the university or your company.
If you ask a science researcher to be able to do the research outside of his lab, the size of your potential audience falls to fingers on one hand.
At least Bill and Melinda Gates foundation does better in pushing a goal with their own agendas. This seems like an unfocused attempt to throw money into the pit, though money always helps.
So, as a researcher, I've learned that researchers are the best ones who can dictate their own goals. That's freedom that hasn't been seen yet, and there's a very simple solution. Just execution is very difficult.
The fact is you really can't do much with a PCR machine. Sure, you can identify your friends boogers. But it only reduces one tiny aspect of overall cost. Add a centrifuge, a flow cytometer, a gel box, some incubators, and then maybe you have a functional 'garage' lab.
But again, you don't achieve much by having immediate in vitro sequencing. Not sure what the point is.
The real barrier then is literally funding and the capacity to do the research. And that's exactly what my startup is doing.