Jul 22, 2026 · 1h 12m
Longevity startup bypasses Silicon Valley to build in Japan
Why this longevity startup raised in Japan, not Silicon Valley | TWiST Tokyo | E2315
The episode highlights how international regulatory environments and alternative funding structures are challenging Silicon Valley's monopoly on deep-tech innovation.
- 1Japan offers a highly supportive regulatory framework and specialized research hubs like Okinawa for life extension technologies.
- 2Startups in Japan can leverage government-backed loans and cheaper epigenetic data to maintain high capital efficiency.
- 3Flipping to a United States entity remains a viable strategy for Japanese startups seeking global venture capital.
Don't miss
Bilal Kharouni details how epigenetic data and methylation tracking are used to benchmark biological age against chronological age.
The brief
At a live Founder University session in Tokyo, entrepreneur Bilal Kharouni of Ekei Labs explains why Japan is emerging as a premier launchpad for longevity startups, defying the traditional Silicon Valley playbook.
Japan offers a highly supportive regulatory framework, strategic research hubs like Okinawa, and access to unique government-backed startup loans that allow founders to maintain higher equity and capital efficiency.
By utilizing low-cost epigenetic data and methylation tracking, Ekei Labs aims to accelerate drug discovery and cell therapy, leveraging Japan's favorable rules around clinical testing and patient access.
Building outside the US requires strategic flexibility, such as flipping to a US entity later for venture capital, while prioritizing personal health and sleep to survive the intense startup grind.
What was said on this episode
37 statements · 25 positive · 8 negative · 1 mixed · 3 neutral
EK Labs generates high-resolution, low-cost epigenetic data for drug development.
“we generate high resolution and low cost epigenetic data for drug development”
Listen at 4:27
Japan has produced some of the strongest innovation in regenerative medicine.
“Some of the best innovation have been created here in Japan.”
Listen at 5:19
Epigenetic methylation signals change with aging and therapeutic responses.
“it changes with aging, it changes with therapeutic responses”
Listen at 6:32
EK Labs reads DNA methylation signals at unusually high resolution and low cost.
“we have a way to read the signals in a way that is incredibly high resolution and at an incredible low cost”
Listen at 6:50
EK Labs works with cohorts ranging from hundreds to thousands of participants.
“we're lucky enough to work with very large cohorts with hundreds and sometimes thousands of participants”
Listen at 7:37
EK Labs tests stem-cell batches for manufacturing quality control.
“we also run tests on different stem cell batches for the manufacturing quality control”
Listen at 8:09
Data generation is the main competitive moat in AI for biology.
“in AI for biology, the moat is in data generation”
Listen at 8:57
AI models cannot compensate for missing biological data.
“you cannot really model your way out from a data set that isn't there”
Listen at 9:07
Virtual-cell organisms will be the next frontier of AI modeling.
“my prediction is that the next frontier for AI modeling will be virtual cell organism”
Listen at 9:43
Drugs developed using virtual-cell models will be groundbreaking.
“the new drug that will hit the markets will be absolutely groundbreaking”
Listen at 10:00
Longevity treatments currently lack consensus on what works for patients.
“right now there's not really a consensus of what would actually work for the, for the patients”
Listen at 12:14
A first clinical trial has tested a drug that might reverse aging.
“we've had the first clinical trial for a drug that might actually reverse aging”
Listen at 12:35
Stem-cell therapies can be highly effective, depending on the clinical indication.
“Stem cells can be in cell therapies in general can be absolutely amazing. But it really depends on what is the clinical indication that you're going for.”
Listen at 14:01
Unsupervised off-label longevity treatments can be dangerous.
“doing things off menu and with your own will without like a framework and someone following you, I think can be dangerous”
Listen at 14:19
Cell therapies can be part of medical care when used for clinical indications.
“if you look at a clinical indication, I 100% believe that can be part of medical journey”
Listen at 15:43
Right-to-try laws should allow terminally ill patients access to unapproved cell or gene therapies.
“it would be the right for if you have for example an ineral disease, you have the right to try a therapy like a cell therapy, a gene therapy that haven't been approved yet”
Listen at 17:17
Deliberately infecting healthy people for medical research crosses Bilal Kharouni’s ethical boundary.
“the ethical question of getting someone sick, even if you can advance the research, is maybe like a border that I would not cross”
Listen at 20:07
The FDA increasingly intends to fast-track cell and gene therapies.
“you have more and more intention from the FDA to fast track cell therapy and gen therapy”
Listen at 24:42
Japan’s Regenerative Medicine Law fast-tracks cell and gene therapies.
“the Regenerative Medicine Law act was enacted and that's really fast track cell therapies and gene therapies in Japan”
Listen at 25:06
EK Labs locates its research and development laboratory in Okinawa.
“we have located all of our R in Okinawa, so we have our own lab bench”
Listen at 27:10
Japanese regional banks provide loans to biotech startups.
“regional banks are risk takers. They do give loans to biotech startups”
Listen at 31:12
Japanese early-stage startup funding is sometimes slow and involves small checks.
“the early stage funding is still sometimes slow and with small checks”
Listen at 32:49
Running a startup in Japan is less expensive than running one in San Francisco.
“definitely less expensive than running a startup in San Francisco”
Listen at 33:50
Japanese startups can accomplish substantial results after raising relatively little capital.
“what a Japanese startup that's raised 200k they were able to accomplish”
Listen at 34:18
Japan wants to encourage acquisitions as startup exits, which could improve the ecosystem.
“they want to encourage me to acquisition as exits and I Think that would be really healthy”
Listen at 36:30
EK Labs terminated its longevity-clinic services business.
“we decided to completely terminate this business”
Listen at 41:04
EK Labs believes data generation will create the greatest company value.
“what will really make the value of the company explode, which is a race for data generation”
Listen at 41:13
Biological age estimates benchmark biomarkers against cohorts of similar-aged people.
“it's really finding a biomarker and then just looking how you benchmark”
Listen at 45:56
Optimizing wearable biomarkers can become disconnected from actual health.
“you're trying to optimize for biomarkers that can be disconnected from your actual health”
Listen at 46:14
Aging biomarkers can help design clinical trials and support drug discovery.
“biomarkers of aging for drug development, then you can find some value”
Listen at 46:35
Socialization supports health and longevity, including among older Okinawans.
“this socialization is extremely important. And I've seen it firsthand in Okinawa”
Listen at 49:11
Diet can influence longevity, particularly the Mediterranean diet in Italy.
“diets can make definitely a difference, especially in Italy, the Mediterranean diet”
Listen at 49:25
AI can elevate senior engineers’ work to world-class quality.
“people who have really solid senior level. With the help of AI, they multiplied the quality of their work. And became, you know, world class levels engineers.”
Listen at 57:01
EK Labs aims to grow into a platform generating multiple intellectual-property assets.
“we try to build a company that will grow into a platform”
Listen at 57:59
Social robots may improve aging biomarkers if they create genuine feelings of care and connection.
“If the robots can actually create a link with a person and have a feeling of care. I would assume so. And I don't know if you've seen like the dog robots that were recently and there were like some study that actually show that there was an affectionate link being Created. So I would love to believe that they will be a value for it.”
Listen at 1:03:50
Sleeping zero to three hours nightly is unsustainable for startup leaders.
“I personally think that is not sustainable”
Listen at 1:05:34
EK Labs recommends valuing work-life balance and personal time.
“at the company, at EK Labs, we really value work life balance, and we really value personal time”
Listen at 1:06:07
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.
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