Blank Bio
YC S25San Francisco, US · Founded 2025 · 6 employees · 7 known investors
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Karthik Ardhanareeswaranunlockedknows Philip Fradkin · together at Yale School of Medicine (overlapped)
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Blank Bio develops RNA foundation models for precision oncology, helping pharmaceutical companies identify the right patients for clinical trials and predict disease progression using bulk RNA-seq data. The company applies AI to patient selection and disease trajectory modeling to improve clinical trial outcomes.
Also known as Orthrus Bio
Founders & leadership· Y Combinator alumni (S25)
Blank Bio was founded in 2025 by Jonny Hsu, Philip Fradkin, and Ian Shi.
JH
Jonny Hsuin𝕏Co-Founder & CEOJonny Hsu holds a degree in biochemistry from the University of Waterloo and was an early-stage employee at Valence Discovery, where he led product and strategy until the company's acquisition by Recursion in 2023. He subsequently joined Recursion's AI research division, Valence Labs, and is now developing foundation models for RNA therapeutics.
PF
Philip Fradkinin𝕏Co-FounderPhilip Fradkin holds a PhD from the University of Toronto and was an early employee at Deep Genomics, where he worked on machine learning applications for RNA, small molecules, and phenomics. He now leads efforts in AI for RNA design at Blank Bio and has published research at top machine learning and biology venues.
Investors · 7
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements$7.2M disclosed across 1 of 2 rounds · 2026
- $7.2MSeedMay 2026 · 2 sourcesSource ↗
Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.
Competitors · 7
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a16z Speedrun3 shared keywordsa16z is a venture capital firm that invests in seed to growth-stage technology companies across artificial intelligence, healthcare, consumer, crypto, enterprise, fintech, gaming, and infrastructure sectors. The firm leverages a large team of operators and ex-founders to support portfolio companies across multiple stages of development.
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In the news
Frequently asked questions
- What does Blank Bio do?
- Blank Bio develops RNA foundation models for precision oncology, helping pharmaceutical companies identify the right patients for clinical trials and predict disease progression using bulk RNA-seq data. The company applies AI to patient selection and disease trajectory modeling to improve clinical trial outcomes.
- Who founded Blank Bio?
- Blank Bio was founded by Jonny Hsu, Philip Fradkin, Ian Shi in 2025.
- Who are Blank Bio's investors?
- Blank Bio's investors include Alumni Ventures, IA Seed Ventures, Leonis Capital, Ripple Ventures, SignalFire, Y Combinator, BoxOne Ventures.
- How much funding has Blank Bio raised?
- Blank Bio has disclosed $7.2M raised across 1 of its 2 known rounds.
- Where is Blank Bio headquartered?
- Blank Bio is headquartered in San Francisco, US.