From Biotech to AI, the Next Big Question Is Who Benefits

Biology and artificial intelligence took center stage at FII PRIORITY Miami 2026 on Day 0, emerging as the two most consequential, fast-moving frontiers of innovation and capital, shaping how value is created and how it is applied.

In a session on biotech, Aydin Gokce, CEO of General Cybernetics, pushed the conversation away from science fiction and toward present-day capability. “The things you can cure now are genetic diseases,” he said, explaining that embryo editing today can identify pathogenic mutations and correct them through targeted intervention.

He also pointed to the growing ability to introduce protective variants linked to resistance against conditions such as Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular disease. “Depending on your polygenic risk scores for these diseases, you can add like 10-15 years of life expectancy with a material cost that is literally cents.”

That vision carries major implications for health systems and long-term economic planning. In the Healthy Humanity Blueprint Report & Initiative, FII Institute research shows that 70-80% of chronic disease is linked to lifestyle and prevention, while every USD 1 invested in prevention can generate up to USD 6 in economic benefit. As genomics and biologics advance, prevention is moving closer to the center of the healthcare model.

Gokce also drew attention to the role of regulation in accelerating or slowing development. “In China, you can develop drugs for between USD 300 million to USD 1 billion. In the US, you can’t do that for less than USD 2 billion,” he said, adding that phase one work in China could move at a fraction of the cost and time.

If biotech raised questions about how far science can go, the MIT Solve session focused on who gets to shape the direction of AI. Marking a new partnership with FII Institute around the third edition of the FII Innovators Pitch, launched at the session, MIT Solve used the platform to spotlight entrepreneurs building AI solutions in health, sustainability, education, and robotics.

Hala Hanna, Executive Director of MIT Solve, framed AI as a human and institutional challenge. “Artificial intelligence, just like every major technological shift, starts with a story about machines, but really it’s always a story about people,” she said.

She argued that many of the most relevant innovators are building in markets that global capital still struggles to price correctly. “If you want to find the entrepreneurs that are working closest to the world’s biggest problems […] they’re in Nairobi, Bogota, Istanbul, Dakar,” she said. “Proximity to the problem is a form of expertise that no McKinsey deck can really capture. They don’t attract the same velocity of capital because they don’t look like what we’ve been trained to recognize as investable.”

MIT Solve’s portfolio now includes 650 ventures reaching 400 million lives globally, with a reported 95% survival rate. “At MIT Solve, we are now raising USD 100 million for the next decade because the era ahead is too consequential to let it be only about the most profitable markets,” Hanna said.

Taken together, the two sessions pointed to a shared shift in emphasis: Science and software are moving fast, while the deeper questions now center on access, direction, and the institutions that decide what progress reaches the world.

Produced by: FII Institute’s Editorial Team