Aldo Carrascoso (born July 19, 1978) is a Filipino entrepreneur known for founding Veem and Jukin Media.[1] He founded InterVenn Biosciences, an American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, with Carolyn Bertozzi and served as its chief executive officer for six years.[2][3]
Aldo Carrascoso | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 19 July 1978 |
| Education | Ateneo De Manila University Babson College |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Founder of Jukin Media, Veem |
Background
editCarrascoso was born and raised in San Juan in Metro Manila.[1][4] His father was an engineer and a general manager of Manila International Airport, causing Carrascoso to be exposed to technology from a young age.[5]
He attended primary and secondary education at De La Salle, and completed his undergraduate studies at the Ateneo De Manila University, where he received a BS in Psychology. He then went on to earn an MBA from Babson College.[6]
Carrascoso's mother Lily died of breast cancer in 1993.[7] His frustration with the available diagnostic and treatment options was a major factor which later motivated him to enter the field of cancer treatment research.[4] After another relative was diagnosed with cancer in 2016, Carrascoso participated in a trial to determine why genomic sequencing was unable to detect cancer within his family, where he met future InterVenn co-founder Carolyn Bertozzi.[8]
When Carrascoso learned that analysis of the data from the sample would take 12 months, he became determined to develop a method to analyze samples using machine learning and artificial intelligence, eventually leading to the founding of InterVenn Biosciences.[8][9]
Career
editTo date, Carrascoso has participated in founding four companies.
Verego
editCarrascoso co-founded Verego, a B2B matchmaking platform, in 2009. He developed the concept for the company based on work completed during his MBA.[10] Carrascoso described the platform as "Tinder for companies," comparing strategic business partnerships to long term relationships or marriage, and utilizing a matching algorithm to pair business with each other.[11]
Jukin Media
editIn 2009, Carrascoso also co-founded Jukin Media, a company which licenses, distributes and monetizes viral content, with Jonathan Skogmo and Josh Entman.[12] He served as CTO of the company during its early development. The platform uses a proprietary machine learning algorithm called "Riff" to generate media feeds based on viral keywords.[13]
Jukin raised approximately $6 million in funding from Samsung Ventures, BDMI, Third Wave Digital and Mandalay Entertainment chairman and CEO Peter Guber[14] and was acquired by Trusted Media Brands in 2021.[15]
Veem (formerly Align Commerce)
editIn 2012, Carrascoso co-founded Veem (originally named Align Commerce), a multi-channel payment platform, with Marwan Forzley.[16] He served as both CTO and COO, overseeing the development of deep learning algorithms which analyzes transactions to determine whether traditional and blockchain payment channels will be more efficient.[17]
The platform was intended mainly to make the cross-border efficiency of blockchain payment rails readily accessible to small and medium businesses.[18] It was initially funded by Silicon Valley Bank, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and later by the National Bank of Australia and Google Ventures.[19]
InterVenn Biosciences
editIn 2017, Carrascoso co-founded InterVenn Biosciences along with chemistry professors Carlito Lebrilla and Carolyn Bertozzi [20] The company uses artificial intelligence developed by Carrascoso for glycoproteomic analysis for early diagnosis of certain cancers.[21] InterVenn's first product was "Glori," a liquid biopsy tool for identifying malignant ovarian tumors.[22] Variations of the method have since been used to develop diagnostic tools for 24 other types of cancer, including renal, lung, liver, prostate, pancreatic, nasopharyngeal, and colorectal cancers.[23]
The company raised $45 million USD over two funding rounds in 2018 and 2020, before raising $201 million USD in a series C round led by SoftBank.[24]
References
edit- ^ a b Racoma, J. Angelo (1 September 2021). "Filipino BioTech founder is changing the game in the global fight against cancer with AI, machine learning & 'glycan' research". TechNode Global. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ^ "The Nobel Chemistry Prize Winner This Year Co-Founded a Revolutionary Startup with a Filipino Serial Entrepreneur". Esquiremag.ph. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ^ Leuty, Ron (2 August 2021). "SoftBank, others invest $201M in Peninsula startup, next-gen cancer test". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ^ a b "How InterVenn Biosciences CEO Aldo Carrascoso is transforming the global fight against cancer". Speed. 24 April 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ^ Grana, Rhia (12 September 2021). "They call him 'Pinoy Elon Musk' and his startup is working on changing the game in cancer detection". ABS-CBN News Channel.
- ^ "Changing the game in global fight vs cancer". malaya.com.ph. 6 September 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ^ Crawford, John (22 July 2021). "When an Entrepreneur Takes on Cancer · Babson Thought & Action". Babson Thought & Action. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ^ a b "Filipino-run biotech company develops ovarian cancer detection tool". Manila Bulletin. 11 December 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ^ "Liquid biopsy is a multibillion-dollar market, and InterVenn is looking to take advantage". PharmaVoice. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ "Filipino techpreneur finds success in Silicon Valley". Manila Standard. 22 April 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ^ "Serial Entrepreneur". groco.com. 22 May 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ Alba, Davey. "Inside the Company That's Made Viral Videos Big Business". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ^ Keiles, Jamie Lauren (27 December 2016). "How Jukin Media Built a Viral-Video Empire". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ Spangler, Todd (12 August 2021). "Jukin Media Acquired by Trusted Media Brands, Parent of Reader's Digest". Variety. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ Gilchrist, Todd (16 August 2021). "Digital Video Company Jukin Media Is Acquired by Trusted Media Brands". Los Angeles Business Journal. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ Miller, Ron (28 November 2017). "Veem opens up global payments platform to developers with new API". TechCrunch. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ^ Levy, Ari. "There's a lot of blockchain hype, but money-transfer start-up Veem is using it today". CNBC. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ "Veem Rolls Out Real-Time Payment Tool for SMBs". www.pymnts.com. 25 October 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ "Veem raises $24 million to simplify global payments". VentureBeat. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ Embudo, Franz Luwen (13 September 2021). "Filipino Innovator And Entrepreneur Revolutionizing Global Fight Against Cancer". One News.
- ^ "Filipino-led company presents easier way to detect ovarian cancer". Lifestyle.INQ. 29 December 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ "Liquid biopsy is a multibillion-dollar market, and InterVenn is looking to take advantage". PharmaVoice. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ "With a 'monopoly' on glycoproteomics, InterVenn raises $34M to push cancer diagnostic into the clinic, woos Illumina BD exec". Endpoints News. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
- ^ Klearman, Sarah (12 May 2022). "Fast-growing biotech company InterVenn snags more space in South San Francisco". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved 13 February 2023.