Hi, I'm Shibil — a researcher turned investor based in Chennai. I work at Speciale Invest, a pre-seed/seed deeptech VC firm in India, where I lead deals across biotech, space, defense, and semiconductors.
I write about biology, AI, and deeptech investing at Atoms & Cells — a newsletter at the intersection of where biology and physics become companies. Earlier essays live on Medium.
I've published investment theses on synthetic biology, deeptech in India, and the Deeptech 2.0 thesis on why the next decade of venture returns will be built on atoms, not bits. The writing archive has everything else — gene therapy economics, platform biotech, the BIOSECURE Act, AI in drug discovery.
Outside of work: I train seriously — gym, boxing, yoga, swimming, in pursuit of a triathlon. I read across history, philosophy, and science fiction. I write poems occasionally. There's a bookshelf of things I'd recommend.
To see what I'm doing right now, check the now page. For more about me — the full arc from biophysics thesis to femtech startup to Singapore biotech to VC — read the about page. Or just say hi.
Biology and physics becoming companies. Long-form on biotech, AI, and deeptech. No filler.
I currently work at Speciale Invest, a pre-seed/seed VC firm in India focused on deeptech — startups solving harder problems in science and technology. I'm a researcher turned investor, and it has been an interesting journey.
Born and raised in a small town in Kerala in a joint family, my grandfather was my everything. He was a teacher, entrepreneur, social worker, and visionary — I learned the world through him. He instilled in me a deep sense of curiosity and a passion for making a difference in the world. I don't think any of my achievements would have been possible without him.
During my time at IISER, I had the chance to explore interdisciplinary fields across science, math, and computer science. I nerded out completely on Feynman, Sapolsky, and the wonderful world of science. I ended up majoring in biological sciences and doing my master's thesis in biophysics — understanding the traction forces of cells. I was always passionate about interdisciplinary fields, or maybe I was just bored with core sciences.
After IISER, I worked as a JRF in a biomechanics lab at IISc, but felt that success in research was primarily measured by the number of papers published. I wanted to make an immediate impact. So by late 2020, I started my own startup in women's healthcare — solutions for PCOS. Despite initial traction, I faced scaling issues without a female co-founder and had to shut it down in January 2022.
In early 2022, I was offered the position of operations manager at a Singapore-based biotech startup called TeOra. I built an operational network in India, created contracts with three national institutes and other CROs, hired and mentored people, and completed animal trials under the estimated time and cost. But life became so monotonous to the point I couldn't find the joy in doing things. So I took a career break — trying to understand what I should do actually.
That led me to multiple avenues: finance, coding, AI. Like someone said, when you are clueless — act. I was just absorbing knowledge as much as I could. This led me to start writing blogs, because now I had a lot of things to say to the world and no audience. These ripples helped me find Speciale and my place in this world.
Outside of work: I read widely across history, fiction, philosophy, and science. I train seriously — gym, boxing, yoga, swimming, in pursuit of a triathlon. I write at Atoms & Cells. Based in Chennai, originally from Kerala.
I'm very proud of my failures, more than my successes, because every time I failed I grew in some way or form. And I firmly believe the only failure is not failing enough.
A comprehensive look at where the biotech industry stands — the modality explosion, M&A dynamics, the gap between science and commercialization, and what India's ecosystem needs.
Read on Medium →Synthetic biology is moving from proof-of-concept to product. Which applications are commercially viable first, and what it takes to build a real business on programmable biology.
Read on Speciale →Platform biotech companies promise multiple shots on goal from a single technical capability. Here's how to think about BD strategy, pipeline prioritization, and partnership models.
Read on Speciale →Automation, AI, and programmable biology are collapsing R&D cycles from years to weeks. The next big wave of innovation looks alive.
Read on Medium →A contrarian look at cultured meat economics and biology. Despite hundreds of millions in investment, it's nowhere near cost parity — and may never get there.
Read on Medium →DeepMind's AlphaMissense can predict pathogenicity across 70 million possible missense mutations. What this means for biotech startups and the frontier of synthetic biology.
Read on Medium →Deeptech has outperformed traditional VC by 60–70% over two decades. Two frameworks for timing your entry: AIP and RTPS.
Read the full thesis →An insider's look at what founders should actually ask before signing a term sheet — beyond brand names and check sizes.
Read on Medium →The newsletters, blogs, podcasts, and people that serious venture investors follow across biotech, deeptech, SaaS, and crypto.
Read on Medium →Why synthetic biology and biomimicry represent real sustainability, not green marketing.
Read on Medium →The contrarian case that overcapitalisation causes deeptech startups to stray from the lean, iterative approach the work actually requires.
Read on Medium →Deep tech startups are fundamentally different — built on unproven science with long R&D horizons and different risk profiles.
Read on Medium →A practical guide for deeptech founders raising in India — narrative construction, investor selection, timing, and pitching hard science at pre-seed.
Read the guide →Stories of setbacks and small victories — from a failed startup to an operations role to VC. Every failure was also a door.
Read on Medium →A personal reflection on meaning, suffering, and what gives existence direction — from depression to existentialism to stoicism.
Read on Medium →Lessons on focus, memory, time, sleep, emotion, and learning — built for brains that don't run on default settings.
Read on Medium →Written at different points. Some when I had everything figured out, most when I didn't.
More poems, personal essays, and reflections on life, identity, and what it means to be from where I'm from. Coming when they're ready.
Gym, boxing, yoga, swimming — rotating seriously. In pursuit of a triathlon. The body as a system to optimize, not a background process.
The intersection of biology and AI — where the real leverage points are, and what it would take to build something durable at that boundary.
Open to conversations on deeptech, biotech investing, or anything at the intersection of biology and capital. Also happy to talk history, poetry, and philosophy.
Reach me at [email protected] or on Twitter.