In the latest episode of the Life Sciences – In Focus Podcast, Karen Tcazyk speaks with Daniela Blanco, whose journey spans continents, disciplines, and industries, from chemical engineering in Venezuela to building AI-powered tools that are reshaping how scientists run experiments.
What makes Daniela’s story especially compelling is not just what she’s building, but why.
An origin story rooted in sustainability
Daniela grew up in Venezuela, where the economy is deeply tied to oil and chemicals. That early exposure inspired her to pursue chemical engineering, but it also sparked a bigger question: how could such a powerful industry become more sustainable?
That question eventually brought her to the United States in 2017 to pursue a PhD in chemical engineering at New York University. Her doctoral research focused on solar-powered chemical processes, work aimed at reducing the environmental footprint of industrial chemistry.
Like many researchers, Daniela soon realized there was a gap between discovery and real-world impact. Publishing papers was one thing; getting innovations adopted by industry was another entirely.
Rather than leaving implementation to chance, she decided to learn the business side herself.
That decision led her into NYU’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, where a student competition unexpectedly awarded her first $100K in non-dilutive funding. That moment effectively launched her startup journey.
Building AI for the lab, not just the data center
Daniela went on to co-found Synthetics, initially focused on scaling solar-powered chemical reactions. But she quickly encountered a familiar bottleneck: experimental optimization is slow, expensive, and often driven by intuition and trial-and-error. So she pivoted.
Instead of optimizing one process at a time, Daniela and her team built an AI platform that guides scientists through experimentation itself.
Here is the breakthrough: Synthetics works with very small datasets. Scientists can begin with as few as five experiments. The platform then recommends the next step, accelerating discovery while reducing waste.
Today, the technology is used across pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, energy, and materials science, helping teams:
- Develop molecules, materials, and processes two to six times faster
- Reduce toxic material usage by up to 75%
- Make green chemistry economically viable, not just aspirational
One of the company’s early public adopters was Merck, a milestone that helped validate the approach and build trust across traditionally cautious industries.
As someone who remembers designing experiments one variable at a time in the lab, this part of Daniela’s story is particularly exciting. It feels like a genuine step-change in how R&D can be done.
Winning adoption in a conservative industry
AI in chemistry is not an easy sell.
Daniela was candid about the challenges: machine learning typically demands massive datasets, something lab scientists rarely have. Convincing teams that meaningful predictions could be made from just a handful of experiments took years of product iteration, pilot programs, and close collaboration with early users.
Equally important was usability. Daniela emphasized that powerful algorithms are not enough. Scientists need tools that are intuitive, accessible, and frankly pleasant to use. Her team invested heavily in user experience to enable researchers to adopt the platform without extensive training.
That focus on credibility, partnerships, and rapid feedback loops is what ultimately drove adoption.
A refreshingly practical take on startup funding
Daniela’s perspective on fundraising, especially for technically minded founders, stood out:
- Being a technical founder is not a disadvantage, as long as you apply the same learning discipline to business that you used in science. Transparency goes a long way.
- Use non-dilutive capital to de-risk deep tech. Daniela raised roughly $1.75M in grants and similar funding to validate the technology itself, allowing equity investment to focus on commercialization rather than core R&D risk.
- Choose investors for alignment, not just capital. Money matters, but supportive partners who share your vision matter more. In her experience, the right investors stay with you through both progress and setbacks.
It was a grounded, honest view of entrepreneurship that we suspect will resonate with many of our listeners.
What’s next
Daniela also shared that Synthetics is actively hiring and attending several AI-for-chemistry conferences this spring. The team is open to collaborations with scientists and organizations interested in faster, greener experimentation.
Her closing message was simple: if you’re curious, reach out. Innovation moves forward when people connect.
A final reflection
Daniela Blanco represents a new generation of life sciences leaders, technically rigorous, mission-driven, and unafraid to cross traditional boundaries between academia, industry, and entrepreneurship.
Her work reminds us that sustainability need not compete with efficiency, and that AI, when thoughtfully designed, can be a genuine partner in scientific discovery.
About Life Sciences – In Focus
Life Sciences – In Focus Podcast by Visatatec, a fascinating conversation with global life sciences experts. The show has multiple hosts and topics. Follow Life Sciences – In Focus on Spotify for all the latest episodes, or subscribe to the show on YouTube and Apple podcasts. Life Sciences – In Focus is available on many other podcast platforms. To learn more about the podcast, please visit https://vistatec.com/life-sciences-division.
About Vistatec
We have been helping some of the world’s most iconic brands to optimize their global commercial potential since 1997. Vistatec is one of the world’s leading global content solutions providers. HQ in Dublin, Ireland, with offices in Mountain View, California, USA. To learn more about Vistatec, please visit https://www.vistatec.com
