A lot of companies are sort of struggling with how do you handle workplace discussions of controversial topics, right? "The idea that companies can somehow remain completely divorced from the political issues or social justice issues is candidly a little bit naive," he says. Ginkgo has found some of its biggest frontiers and new advances have come from first principles blind-faith bets on the future.
Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine would not have scaled without Ginkgo Bioworks. Reshma Shetty, co-founder and COO of Ginkgo – slated to go public via SPAC acquisition at a reported $15 billion valuation – explains how biotech innovation can build a better future now. Ginkgo's platform already serves industries from food and agriculture, to materials, to healthcare. Shetty acknowledges that engineering genes is a high stakes pursuit, and says Ginkgo is trying to pair the ambition of Silicon Valley with a "higher level of care" than consumer tech companies like social media have demonstrated. The key, Shetty says, is creating an unstable equilibrium – propelling progress but not at the expense of principles.
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