# Richard Yu

> Richard Yu is the Co-founder and CEO of Abalone Bio, an Emeryville, California-based biotechnology company pioneering AI-guided antibody drug discovery for notoriously hard-to-drug targets. With a PhD in Molecular Biophysics from Yale and a background spanning structural biology, systems biology, and biotech entrepreneurship, Richard built Abalone Bio's FAST platform - a high-throughput yeast cell screening system capable of evaluating 100 million antibody variants simultaneously. The company has secured partnerships with Pfizer and Mount Sinai, generated $7M in non-dilutive NIH grants, and published the world's first CB2 antibody agonist data, while positioning AI and large-scale functional datasets at the core of next-generation antibody therapeutics.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Abalone Bio
- **Organizations:** Abalone Bio, Y Combinator (W20), MBC Biolabs, Mission Bay Capital, Green Pacific Biologicals, Molecular Sciences Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Labs
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA in Biophysics and Computer Science (AI and Graphics), University of California, Berkeley, PhD in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Abalone Bio, pioneering functional antibody selection technology (FAST) capable of screening 100 million antibody variants simultaneously, Secured $7M in non-dilutive NIH SBIR grants for preclinical drug discovery programs, Published world's first CB2 antibody agonists in collaboration with Mount Sinai (May 2025)

## Career timeline

- **1993** — Graduated UC Berkeley with BA in Biophysics and Computer Science
- **2000** — Completed PhD in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University
- **2000-2003** — Research associate at Lawrence Berkeley National Labs (structural biology and protein engineering)
- **2003-2008** — Research fellow at Molecular Sciences Institute, Berkeley; met future co-founder Gustavo Pesce studying yeast pheromone response pathway
- **2008** — Co-founded Green Pacific Biologicals (GPB), an algae biofuel startup, serving as Chief Scientific Officer
- **2008-2018** — Scientific and Operations Director at MBC Biolabs (biotech incubator in San Francisco); Principal at Mission Bay Capital (life science VC fund)
- **2018** — Co-founded Abalone Bio with Gustavo Pesce
- **2020** — Admitted to Y Combinator Winter 2020 batch; raised $125K seed
- **2022** — Raised $3M seed round (Feb 2022); secured Phase II NIH SBIR funding for CB2 antibody agonist program
- **2024** — Reached $7M total non-dilutive NIH grant funding; established Pfizer partnership
- **2025-03** — Announced collaboration with University of Pennsylvania to develop next-generation obesity drugs
- **2025-05** — Published world's first preclinical data on CB2 antibody agonists in collaboration with Mount Sinai

## Achievements

- Co-founded Abalone Bio, pioneering functional antibody selection technology (FAST) capable of screening 100 million antibody variants simultaneously
- Secured $7M in non-dilutive NIH SBIR grants for preclinical drug discovery programs
- Published world's first CB2 antibody agonists in collaboration with Mount Sinai (May 2025)
- Established research partnership with Pfizer for GPCR-modulating antibodies
- Announced obesity drug collaboration with University of Pennsylvania (March 2025)
- Y Combinator Winter 2020 alumni
- Developed antibody agonists for 2 of only 8 GPCRs ever successfully drugged by biotech
- 3 pharma partnerships worth $3M in revenue and $125M in downstream value
- 1,373+ citations on Google Scholar
- Spoke at BIO International Convention 2025 and Antibody Engineering & Therapeutics Asia conference

## Latest updates

- **2025-05** — Abalone Bio and Mount Sinai published preclinical data on world's first CB2 antibody agonists, demonstrating anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory effects without CNS side effects
- **2025-03** — Announced collaboration with University of Pennsylvania to develop next-generation obesity drugs, with exclusive option agreement
- **2024-12** — Reached $7M in total non-dilutive NIH SBIR grant funding
- **2025-05** — Presented at BIO International Convention 2025

## Links

- Website: https://abalonebio.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-c-yu

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/richard-yu
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-13