When we launched Amplify Bio as a dedicated fund, we were betting that a combination of high-throughput biology, powerful AI models, and founders fluent in both computing and life sciences were on the verge of unlocking a wave of innovation.

Almost two years in, it seems we may have even underestimated that wave. Amplify Bio has grown to four dedicated investors, a roster of industry-leading scientific and commercial advisors, and over twenty portfolio companies building what would have been unimaginable just a few years earlier: virtual cell models informed by hyperscale single-cell data (Tahoe), the world’s largest toxicology dataset (Axiom), whole-brain perfusion that illuminates real-world brain/drug interactions (Bexorg), and much, much more.

As Amplify Bio has grown, so has our conviction that capital alone won’t build the AI x Bio future we need. The new generation of scientific founders requires full-scale support. They need community, they need operational help, and they need connections. To that end, I’m thrilled to announce that Madelyn Heart has joined Amplify as Head of Bio Platform.

We imagined our Bio Platform role as the intersection of a few key ideas:

  • Building community among the pioneers of the AI x Bio movement
  • Attracting the up-and-coming talent that aspires to join them
  • Supporting our founders with the access and insights that gave them an edge

While that didn’t fit neatly into one job description, the industry leaders we ran it by seemed to think that Madelyn Heart in Boston would probably know someone who’d be a fit, because, as they told us, “Madelyn knew everybody.” When my colleague, Justin Gage, reached out to get her take on our Platform idea, it became clear that Madelyn had an even bigger vision for what this role could feel like. And we were sold.

Madelyn has spent years bringing together parts of the Bio and AI worlds that have never had an outlet. She has built, or helped run, more than 150 events and designed programming for every stage of the founder journey. She’s brought scientific researchers, pharma and frontier labs to the same table and has built some of the biggest communities in founder-led biology and women’s health. Most importantly, Madelyn is a rare breed who has a passion for genuinely hard science problems, understands how companies get built, and knows how to build community and programming that marry the two.

Amplify is building a first-class platform to serve our Bio founders and the broader AI x Bio community, and Madelyn is the right person to build it. Her mandate is to make big things happen on behalf of our founders and our firm, and I bet she will.

Welcome, Madelyn.