Interview with Rahmi Lale, co-founder of the start-up Syngens
Rahmi Lale is an academic, member of the SynCellEU community, and co-founder of start-up Syngens, a company specialising in predictive DNA design to help biomanufacturing companies. In April 2024, Syngens won the SYNBEE Pitch Competition, a competition that rewards innovative start-ups that tackle challenges in the fields of sustainability and green innovation. We caught up with Rahmi to find out more about Syngens’ activities, his personal journey into entrepreneurship and his advice for those ready to take the plunge.
Could you briefly introduce yourself and your area of expertise?
My name is Rahmi Lale and I work as an associate professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology [NTNU] in Trondheim, Norway. I have a fairly versatile background, having studied food science and technology, graphic design, microbiology and molecular biology, and I have a Ph.D. in biotechnology.
At NTNU, I lead an interdisciplinary lab where we combine biophysics, computational biology, and synthetic biology. Our main objective is to understand and control transcriptional and translational processes in microorganisms. I am also the co-founder of Syngens. In short, what I do in my academic work and with Syngens is to control gene expression, which is particularly interesting for the construction of synthetic cells.
What is Syngens’ purpose?
Syngens helps other companies make bio-products using predictive DNA design. Suppose a company wants to produce a specific enzyme, we help them optimise the expression of the enzyme and its DNA coding sequence in a predictive manner. Thanks to our approach, which combines synthetic biology and artificial intelligence [AI], we reduce the number of experiments and tests to achieve the desired outcome.
Anyone who works with DNA design knows how frustrating it is to deal with endless rounds of trial-and-error tests. DNA sequences are combinations of nucleotides. There are so many possible combinations that it’s hard to know where to start. Previously, we had no predictable leads and had to test a large number of constructs. AI gave us the opportunity to move away from the “LEGO” mentality, where you put the functional DNA blocks together, check the result and then go back to make a change and check the results over and over again. With AI, we can do predictive DNA design, which means generating millions of DNA sequences, predicting their output computationally and reducing the list of constructs to be tested in living cells to just 10 or 20.
Gene expression: the conversion of instructions contained in DNA into products such as proteins and enzymes
By using a predictive approach to DNA design, we not only save our customers time and money in identifying the optimal regulatory and coding DNA sequences for their products, but we also enhance quality compared to the traditional “LEGO” approach. Most scientists are reductionists by nature, studying one parameter at a time when examining a phenotype. However, everything is interconnected. AI enables us to go beyond focusing on a single-parameter, by allowing us to target as many parameters as we need.
Phenotype: all the observable characteristics of an organism that result from the interaction of its genotype (total genetic inheritance) with the environment. Examples of observable characteristics include behaviour, biochemical properties, colour, shape, and size. Definition from Britannica
Did you encounter any challenges in setting up Syngens?
The road to creating a start-up is a bumpy one. Every stage is challenging. I, together with my co-founder Gurvinder Singh Dahiya, set up Syngens when I was already working at university, which was an extra burden. With the support of my university, I was able to reduce my academic activity to become more involved in the business.
Then you really have to be strong. You have to negotiate with the university, set up the company, find and hire qualified people all while maintaining your activities in the lab.
Did your university offer you any additional support?
NTNU has been very supportive. As an AI company, we need access to high-performance computing [HPC], i.e. a lot of computing power is required to run AI models with billions of parameters. We initially had access to the national HPC infrastructure, Sigma2, and later to those located at the NTNU, IDUN, for the first stages of Syngens. Without that, we wouldn’t be here today. We currently have free access to Google Cloud HPCs until the end of the year, and we have also recently received access to the LUMI-G European HPC.
Do you have any advice for researchers who are ready to embark on an entrepreneurial adventure?
It is important for university researchers to realise that they can have a greater impact on society and the environment than they think, and that they are the best candidates for directing the use of the knowledge they generate.
As academics, we are sitting on substantial knowledge. This knowledge is crucial and you can get a lot more out of it. I couldn’t have done what I do with Syngens without my academic knowledge.
Academics tend to produce knowledge and leave its exploitation to others. But researchers have the ability to drive the potential use of that knowledge and are the best candidates to do so. No one else can do it better.
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Syngens, the DNA design company, has now reached the scale-up stage and is looking for investors. For more information, visit the Syngens website or contact the team directly by email.