The 10 Most Innovative Companies Bringing AI to Healthcare The 10 Most Innovative Companies Bringing AI to He | Page 42

iCarbonX
Thinking Out of the Box & Making the Difference
Jun Wang
Founder & CEO
T
he carbon element is the chief
component in any life form.
Carbon is the central element,
without which life as we know it
would not exist. Any compound that
consists of carbon atoms is generally
termed as an organic compound; these
make up the cells and other structures
of organisms and carryout the
metabolic processes. It is an essential
part of our DNA, lipids, and cells. It’s
only fitting then that a company, which
focuses on digitizing, analyzing, and
understanding life, reflects life’s
essential component through its name,
iCarbonX.
The company is led by an individual
who has done more to scale the
application of genetics around the
world: Jun Wang. He is the Founder
and CEO of iCarbonX. He is a top
Chinese researcher and former Head of
Beijing Genome Institute. Wang was
trained in artificial intelligence before
he co-founded Beijing Genomics
Institute (BGI) in 1999. As CEO he
built BGI into a premier global genome
sequencing center. He is also credited
with sequencing the genome of the first
40
Asian person, the rice
plant, SARS, the giant
panda, silkworms, pigs,
chickens, goats and the
human gut microbiome. And he is a
significant contributor to the Human
Genome Project and to the rice genome
sequencing initiative.
As one of the world’s leading
scientists, Wang could have stayed in
genomics, and remained at the top of a
science he helped to commercialize
and consumerize. But in 2015, he
founded iCarbonX to create a future in
which people can drive their own
health and defeat disease with
advanced data and AI. Now, he has
assembled the best set of partners to
operationalize his vision.
habits systematically. But by digitizing
data, people will be able to get better
treatments in the future,” asserts Wang.
iCarbonX is a technology company,
combining advances in artificial
intelligence, disease management,
multiomics, and immuneomic profile
technology to fundamentally change
how people understand their present, to
manage their futures. It has built a
platform of deep biological digitization
to analyze and deliver precision
solutions, services, and applications for
any moment in life’s journey; from
wellness, skincare, fitness, and
nutrition to prevention, heath care,
condition management and outcome
achievement.
Going Beyond Genetics
He believes that digitization of health
information is crucial for the choice of
medicine, health, and treatments. “It’s
essential that the population digitizes
their health data because it provides
individuals with greater knowledge of
their own health, and the data provides
doctors with better insight into their
patients. Today, very few people know
their own genetics or have insight into
their digital health data. They do not
know their gut bacteria or heart
function and do not record dietary
“What If?” A question that iCarbonX
wishes to answer by going beyond
genetics. To answer the million dollar
questions of life, so that one doesn’t
just choose the road less traveled, but
the road that should be traveled; is the
vision the company works towards.
“All our individual paths will create a
global map of health; parallel,
intersecting and divergent,” says
Wang. “This far-reaching and
expansive atlas will forge an endlessly
DECEMBER 2018