Sukrit Silas

Okay, so here’s the story on Sukrit Silas, this guy’s a straight-up science and startup legend in the making. No cap. So, he’s part of YC S17, which already tells you he crushed it early on. But what’s really wild is his whole process, dude’s been deep in the labs, working with some of the biggest names in biotech and academia, then jumping into startups and making shit happen.

He’s a co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at BillionToOne, a legit big change in genetic testing. Think noninvasive stuff for diseases like beta thalassemia and Down syndrome, basically, making diagnosis way easier and more accessible. The fact that they got into YC and then got named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in healthcare in 2019? That’s not just luck, that’s real talent and hustle.

But Sukrit’s story isn’t just about startups. He’s got a PhD from Stanford in Chemical and Systems Biology, and during that time, he did some advanced research. He helped discover CRISPR adaptation to RNA in Andrew Fire’s lab, yeah, *the* Nobel laureate. That’s huge. That work basically opened up a whole new field in how bacteria defend against viruses, especially RNA viruses. Imagine that, he’s out here changing the game on a molecular level, pushing science forward.

After Stanford, he didn’t just chill. He did postdoc work at UCSF as a Damon Runyon Fellow, digging into host immunity and virus gene functions, which is super niche but key stuff. He’s worked with some heavy hitters in the biotech world, Joe Bondy-Denomy, Carol Gross, Jonathan Weissman, and has been involved with labs like BillionToOne, SeqIndia, and the labs of big names like Andrew Z. Fire, Eric Wieschaus, and Petros Ligoxygakis. Basically, he’s been around the best minds in biotech and immunology.

What’s crazy is his motivation. The guy’s clearly driven by a desire to push the boundaries of what we know about biology and turn that into real-world solutions. His work on bacteriophages and antimicrobial resistance using AI? That’s some next-gen shit, fighting drug-resistant bacteria with engineered viruses. It’s all about using science to solve big problems, and he’s doing it at the intersection of research and entrepreneurship.

So, if you look at his process, from discovering new CRISPR mechanisms to building billion-dollar diagnostics companies, it’s all about a relentless pursuit of impact. He’s not just in it for the fame or the money; he genuinely wants to change medicine and how we fight disease. That’s what makes Sukrit Silas so important. Dude’s a perfect example of a scientist turned startup founder who’s not just talking about the future, he’s building it.