# Kunwoo Lee

> Kunwoo Lee is the CEO and Co-founder of BreezeBio (formerly GenEdit), a Brisbane, California-based biotech company pioneering non-viral gene delivery through its proprietary NanoGalaxy platform. A Siebel Scholar and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree who earned his PhD from UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Program in Bioengineering, Lee co-founded GenEdit in 2016 alongside Professor Niren Murthy and fellow researcher Hyo Min Park, building out a polymer nanoparticle library of thousands of chemically distinct compounds capable of delivering diverse genetic payloads to specific tissues. The company has raised over $118 million including a $60M Series B in February 2026, struck a landmark $644M collaboration deal with Genentech, and rebranded to BreezeBio to signal its pivot from platform company to clinical-stage therapeutics developer advancing BRZ-101 for Type 1 Diabetes.

- **Role:** CEO & Co-founder at BreezeBio
- **Organizations:** BreezeBio, Council of Korean Americans, Sequoia Capital (portfolio)
- **Nationality:** Korean-American
- **Education:** B.S., KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology), Ph.D. in Bioengineering, UC Berkeley - UCSF Joint Graduate Program in Bioengineering
- **Known for:** Siebel Scholar, 2016, Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science, 2017, MIT Innovators Under 35 Honoree

## Career timeline

- **2016** — Earned PhD from UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Program; co-founded GenEdit with Professor Niren Murthy and Hyo Min Park
- **2017** — Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science
- **2018** — GenEdit closes $8.5M Series Seed led by DCVC Bio; research team publishes CRISPR study showing reduction of autism-related behaviors in mice
- **2021** — GenEdit raises $26M Series A with Eli Lilly, Sequoia Capital, and Korean investment partners
- **2022** — Collaboration with Sarepta Therapeutics announced for gene editing therapeutics in neuromuscular diseases - $57M in near-term payments
- **2023** — GenEdit named Phase I winner of NIH TARGETED Challenge for programmable delivery systems
- **2024** — GenEdit raises $24M Series A1; signs landmark $644M collaboration with Genentech for nanoparticle nucleic acid delivery for autoimmune diseases; exclusive license deal with Editas Medicine
- **2025** — Speaks at PMWC 2025 San Francisco; advances BRZ-101 into IND-enabling studies for Type 1 Diabetes
- **2026** — Company rebrands from GenEdit to BreezeBio in February; closes $60M Series B co-led by Yuanta Investment and DSC Investment

## Achievements

- Siebel Scholar, 2016
- Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science, 2017
- MIT Innovators Under 35 Honoree
- Co-inventor on over a dozen patents in polymer nanoparticle delivery
- Led GenEdit/BreezeBio to raise over $118.5 million in total funding
- Secured $644M collaboration deal with Genentech (Roche subsidiary)
- NIH TARGETED Challenge Phase I winner (2023) for programmable delivery systems
- Built NanoGalaxy platform - thousands of chemically distinct polymer nanoparticles
- Demonstrated non-viral delivery to immune cells, heart, lung, and CNS tissues
- First-in-class CRISPR-Cas9 gold nanoparticle delivery system developed during PhD research
- Published multiple papers in Nature journals and peer-reviewed publications

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — BreezeBio (formerly GenEdit) closes $60M Series B co-led by Yuanta Investment and DSC Investment to advance internal pipeline of precision genetic medicines
- **2026-02** — Company officially rebrands from GenEdit to BreezeBio, signaling transition from delivery platform to clinical-stage therapeutics company
- **2025-01** — Kunwoo Lee speaks at PMWC 2025 Precision Medicine World Conference in San Francisco
- **2024-06** — GenEdit signs $644M collaboration deal with Genentech for nanoparticle-based nucleic acid delivery for autoimmune diseases
- **2024-01** — GenEdit raises $24M Series A1 from existing and new investors including Eli Lilly and Sequoia Capital

## Links

- Website: https://breezebio.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/kunwoo-ryan-lee-4b224490
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/genedit_inc
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMFgdReUxBs

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/kunwoo-lee
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-12