Outer Biosciences maintains living human skin for weeks to train AI models

Outer Biosciences, founded by Michael Polansky in 2022, has moved from stealth to public disclosure about keeping living human skin tissue alive for weeks to train AI models aimed at discovering new skincare compounds. Previously the work was quiet, as Polansky had spent years building the capability without public fanfare. Polansky’s background includes applied mathematics and computer science from Harvard, followed by roles at Bridgewater Associates, Founders Fund, and Sean Parker’s family office. His experience in cancer immunotherapy with Parker informed his frustration that biological innovation lags behind software due to the lack of ethical human experimentation. This shift reveals a biotech-AI hybrid approach that had been undisclosed.

The material does not provide explicit financial or operational figures for the cost of maintaining living human skin cultures outside the body. It only notes that the tissue can be kept alive for weeks, implying ongoing laboratory support but without quantifying expenses. Consequently, any assessment of adoption cost must rely on information not present in the source.

The approach is presently limited to human skin tissue, as the work focuses on keeping skin alive to discover skincare compounds. The source does not indicate that the method has been applied to other organs or tissue types. Therefore, its applicability beyond skin-related research is not demonstrated in the provided information. Additionally, the material notes that animal models, simplified cell cultures, and lab-grown organoids are poor stand-ins for how a real human organ behaves, underscoring the need for more human-relevant systems like the skin platform.

By sustaining living human skin, the platform provides training data for AI models aimed at discovering new skincare compounds, as described in the source. The material notes that this approach addresses the ethical limitation of experimenting on people, which has historically slowed biological innovation. However, because the source does not detail scalability, cost, or extension to other tissues, engineers must weigh these uncertainties when considering adoption. The absence of such details means that any decision to adopt the technology would rely on factors outside the scope of the current coverage.