The Biotech Startups Podcast 🧬 Controlled Chaos: Why Success Isn't Planned (And Doesn't Need To Be) | Krish Ramadurai (3/4)
Dec 8, 2025
29:10
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"I'm only doing this because I'm already doing this or because I couldn't afford to hypothesis test."
In this episode of The Biotech Startups Podcast, Krish Ramadurai, Partner at AIX Ventures, reveals his unconventional approach to building a venture capital career through simultaneous immersion in both academia and industry. The conversation explores how Krish pursued his master's in nanomedicine and PhD at Oxford University while working full-time at Harmonics Capital—an arrangement he negotiated by demonstrating that his research on machine learning algorithms for mRNA optimization directly aligned with his daily venture work.​
Krish challenges conventional wisdom about hustle culture, arguing that productivity drops after 55 hours per week and emphasizing strategic time protection over brute-force effort. He shares candid reflections on what he calls "controlled chaos"—how his achievements weren't the result of meticulous planning but rather making the best of challenging circumstances. The discussion then transitions to his strategic move to AIX Ventures, where he joined as the first institutional partner at a firm helmed by AI pioneers like Richard Socher (inventor of prompt engineering). Krish describes building AIX's TechBio practice from less than 10% to 25% of the portfolio in just over a year, leading nine deals while helping scale a fund that's become the #2 VC globally for performance with eight unicorns from their first fund.
Key topics covered:
- Oxford PhD Journey: Negotiating remote doctoral study while working full-time in venture capital, and how Oxford's unique tutorial system differs from traditional programs
- Work Efficiency Philosophy: Why 55 hours is the productivity ceiling and how strategic time management enables parallel career tracks
- Building the Venture Flywheel: The deliberate five-year strategy to establish deal sourcing, diligence capabilities, and founder relationships
- Advisory Ecosystem: Contributing to Nucleate, ARPA-H, and Department of Defense initiatives while maintaining a focused 10-hour quarterly commitment
- AIX Ventures Strategy: Joining a boutique AI-native fund backed by world-class practitioners, scaling the TechBio practice, and maintaining disciplined fund sizing to optimize returns
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Find our guest, Krish Ramadurai, at these links:
Find our host, Jon Chee, at these links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonchee
Learn more about Excedr:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/excedr/
Website: https://www.excedr.com
Intro & Outro Songs Created by OkKyojin, Owned by Excedr:
Website: https://flow.page/kyojin
Resources & Articles:
General Partner vs. Venture Partner Explained: https://visible.vc/blog/general-partner-vs-limited-partner/
mRNA Therapeutics and Delivery Challenges: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11883111/
Tutorial System Fundamentals: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tutorial_system
Companies, Universities, & People mentioned:
Oxford University: https://www.ox.ac.uk/
AIX Ventures: https://www.aixventures.com/
Nucleate: https://nucleate.org/
ARPA-H: https://arpa-h.gov/
Lux Capital: https://www.luxcapital.com/
Richard Socher https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardsocher/
Christopher Manning https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-manning-011575/
Michael Retchin https://www.linkedin.com/in/retchin/
Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:49 Pursuing Oxford While Working Full-Time at Harmonics
03:02 Remote Master's in Nanomedicine: Breaking the Rules
05:16 Research Focus: mRNA Optimization and Machine Learning
06:45 Oxford's Unique PhD Structure and Three-Year Timeline
08:16 Lessons from the Oxford Experience and Trade-Offs
12:39 Integrating Graduate Work into Venture Practice
14:42 Building Your Tribe: Mentorship and Network in VC
17:13 The Path to General Partner and Leaving Harmonics
19:36 Advisory Work with Nucleate and ARPA-H
22:39 Joining AIX Ventures: Finding the Super-Freaks
26:17 AIX Investment Strategy and Fund Structure
27:37 Outro
The Biotech Startups Podcast gives you a front-row seat to the business and science of building a biotech. Hosted by Jon Chee, CEO of Excedr, the show features honest conversations with founders, execs, and investors about their work, their companies, and how they got there. From scientific breakthroughs to startup lessons, each episode explores what it really takes to grow a life science company—from pre-seed to IPO.