Mark Bowles

Based in San Diego and founded in 2013, Edico Genome Inc. develops cutting edge solutions that power the genomic revolution. Our vision is to revolutionize genome sequencing analysis by providing unprecedented speed, scale and accuracy. The “Big Data” Problem: As DNA sequencing costs have plummeted over the last few years, furthered by Illumina’s recent announcement of the ability to sequence genomes for below $1,000, raw data generated by sequencing has increased exponentially, measuring petabytes of data, making analyses and transfer of all this data difficult. These large amounts of data produce a critical bottleneck in the DNA sequencing workflow that has previously only been addressable by throwing increasing numbers of ever more powerful CPU cores at the problem. However, since the data being produced by sequencing already far outpaces Moore’s Law, this solution has very limited sustainability. DRAGEN™ Bio-IT Processor To address this problem, Edico Genome is developing the DRAGEN™ Bio-IT Processor, the world’s first Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) bioinformatics reconfigurable processor. It enables the computational time required for the NGS data analysis pipeline to be radically reduced from many hours down to only a few minutes. The mapping, alignment, sorting and variant calling that is currently performed by software on extensive cluster or cloud-based platforms, is performed at a fraction of the computing cost by DRAGEN - without compromising accuracy. Our patent-pending technology makes it faster, easier and cheaper to work with NGS data and to discover links between DNA sequence variations and human disease.

1876 Ventures operates a venture studio and opportunity hub for Texas A&M University-affiliated, tech-enabled startups, as well as Aggie entrepreneurs from the greater Aggie Network. We assist others on a case-by-case basis. No direct affiliation with Texas A&M University or the Texas A&M System. Our all-volunteer group of successful entrepreneurs is independent of other programs. David Wesson, Clint Bybee, Meg Lassarat, Mark Bowles (Chair) and Mark Roenigk serve as Directors for the 1876 Ventures Board. Past Directors include Spencer Clements. Supporting students and startups with access to qualified mentorship and business resources. Please do not send us your IP. (We will not look at IP or ask to see IP ever.) We are a pro bono community service -- Aggies helping Aggies!

VCs in a Van is a TV show set in SoCal starring local venture capital investors and local entrepreneurs. We turn our attention to the “little guy,” the local startup that doesn’t have easy access to Silicon Valley or big money investment banks. Unlike other investment shows, these VCs take it on the road to visit the entrepreneurs in their native company environments; there’s no pitching in a sterile room with beautiful television backdrops. The production is gritty and documentary-style, using raw footage and lots of colorful language to show the “real world” discussions that go on among VCs while they consider the pluses and minuses of an investment deal. VCs in a Van also invites the viewers to invest along side them to help back gritty local entrepreneurs in need of capital.

"Sometimes in science there are so many people trying to answer the same question that it's good to stray off in another direction,"​ Mitchell Kronenberg, Ph.D., LJI Chief Scientific Officer. "Taking the road less traveled can bring its voyagers to unexpected - and even groundbreaking - new territory."​ The La Jolla Institute The La Jolla Institute for Immunology is a non-profit medical research institute dedicated to increasing knowledge and improving human health through studies of the immune system. Our essential purpose is to expand our understanding of how the immune system works and to discover the causes of immune system disorders. The knowledge gained through our biomedical research can, in turn lead to the prevention, treatment and cure of a wide range of human diseases. What is immunology? Immunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune response. The immune response is the defense system of the body carried out by white blood cells against microbial threats such as a virus infection. Since immunology has an effect on every organ system in our body, there is no biomedical discipline that has greater implications for improving human health. Where is LJI? The La Jolla Institute is located in the University of California San Diego's Science Research Park in a world-class facility covering 145,000 square feet. Our space provides an open laboratory setting that encourages La Jolla Institute for Immunology's highly collaborative research environment.

Techstars helps founders scale their startups into world-changing businesses. Founded in 2006, Techstars is on a mission to invest in startups to enable more capital to flow to more entrepreneurs around the world in order to deliver exceptional returns to our investors. We do this by operating accelerator programs and venture capital funds, as well as by connecting startups, investors, corporations, and cities to help build thriving startup communities. Our results show why Techstars is Better for Founders than any other global accelerator: On average, 74.5% of Techstars companies will raise money within 3 years of their program; 18.5% of Techstars portfolio companies have exited 5 years after their program and 31.1% after eight years. (PitchBook June 2023)