Portal accelerates growth with latest $9M round led by NFX, an expanded DARPA contract, and broad adoption!
Portal accelerates growth with latest $9M round led by NFX, an expanded DARPA contract, and broad adoption!Biotech has a PR problem. It's messy, complex, and hard to understand from the outside looking in. That's why I'm starting Boba & Biotech.
I’m Armon Sharei. You might know me from my cell cartoons on LinkedIn. I was born in California, grew up in Iran and Dubai, and somehow ended up spending most of my life thinking about cells.
In this intro episode, I'll lay out my career - how I got to where I am today. Hint: I’m a chemical engineer by training and during my PhD, my colleagues and I accidentally discovered something that led to my first company: SQZ Biotech SQZ went on to operate for ten years. We raised about $400 million, partnered with Roche, went public in 2020, and tried to create a new class of cancer therapies.
Now, I'm the founder and CEO of Portal - a next-gen version of what SQZ had started. Today, we have over 100 customers, a growing team, and support from DARPA to democratize access to next gen cell therapies.
I also proudly sustain a near daily boba habit.
I ALSO believe strongly that if you make a difference through science, that difference is irreversible. No one can ever take back a cure to a disease. And that’s why this podcast exists.
Boba & Biotech is about giving biotech a real face. It’s about scientists, founders, investors, pharma leaders, and the people in between - talking without the sanitized bullshit about how this industry actually works. We’ll talk about science, clinical trials, finance, and all the other ingredients that go into making a drug.
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About Me: Armon Sharei is the CEO and co-founder of Portal Biotechnologies. He previously founded SQZ Biotechnologies, raised over $300M, established a $1B+ collaboration with Roche, and took the company public on the NYSE. He built SQZ on the same intracellular delivery technology he developed during his doctoral research at MIT. Keep up with him here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/armonsharei/
About Portal: Portal Biotechnologies is a seed-stage cell engineering company founded by the former CEO and founder of SQZ Biotech (raised over $300M, established a $1B+ collaboration with Roche, and took the company public on the NYSE). Our proprietary mechanical delivery platform enables efficient intracellular delivery across a wide range of cell types and cargoes. Since emerging from stealth in early 2024, we’ve partnered with over 50 organizations, including the majority of the top 10 pharma. Our technology is poised to make a significant impact accelerating innovation in research, cell therapy, and drug discovery.
Armon: Biotech has a PR problem. In some polls it has been viewed as even worse than the tobacco industry. From the outside, it looks like hype, that results in overpriced drugs that never quite work. From the inside… okay, sometimes it is that - but it’s also way more human than people think. It’s messy, complex, risky…and full of people who genuinely want to make the world better. That’s why I’m starting Boba & Biotech.
Hi, I’m Armon Sharei. You might know me from the cell cartoons we post on LinkedIn. If you don’t - great, this will be more fun! I was born in California, grew up in Iran and Dubai, and somehow ended up spending most of my life thinking about cells. I’m a chemical engineer by training and during my PhD, my colleagues and I accidentally discovered something that led to my first company: SQZ Biotech SQZ went on to operate for ten years. We raised about 400 million dollars, partnered with Roche, went public in 2020, and tried to create a new class of cancer therapies.
It was exciting. It was painful. Some things worked. Some things very much did not. And eventually, the board and I disagreed on where the company should go. So they kicked me out for being an insubordinate little shit.
After swearing I would never start another company… I founded Portal - a next-gen version of what SQZ had started. Today, we have over 100 customers, a growing team, and support from DARPA to democratize access to next gen cell therapies.
When I’m not doing that, I play soccer, chase my 3 kids, blast EDM at irresponsible volumes, and proudly sustain a near daily boba habit. But at the core of everything I do is a simple belief: If you make a difference through science, that difference is irreversible. No one can ever take back a cure to a disease. And that’s why this podcast exists.
Boba & Biotech is about giving biotech a real face. It’s about scientists, founders, investors, pharma leaders, and the people in between - talking without the sanitized bullshit about how this industry actually works. We’ll talk about science, clinical trials, finance, and all the other ingredients that go into making a drug. Because behind every trial, every deal, and every headline, there are people trying to make things better - and doing it the hard way.
This is Boba & Biotech. Grab a drink. Let’s talk.
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