Aloe Blacc’s fame means nothing in biotech (and that’s the point) | Equity Podcast

When Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Aloe Blacc got COVID despite being vaccinated and boosted, he tried to fund research for a better solution and quickly ran into a hard truth about biotech: you can’t just write a check and move science forward. Regulatory requirements, commercialization plans, and university IP rules mean even well-intentioned philanthropy doesn’t easily translate into clinical progress. Now? Aloe is bootstrapping a cancer drug platform targeting pancreatic cancer and deliberately waiting to raise outside capital until peer-reviewed research can make the case for him. On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan sits down with Aloe Blacc to talk about what happens when a creator steps into biotech, how AI is reshaping both drug discovery and music, and who actually stands to win in each industry’s transformation. Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:20 From musician to biotech founder 05:15 How COVID led to cancer research and PeptoID 08:00 Funding strategy and waiting for the right moment 11:00 AI's role in drug discovery 15:20 AI is reshaping the music industry 18:40 Should artists get paid when AI trains on their work? 22:40 Using Suno to prototype music 26:55 Outro