# Robert M. DiFazio

> Robert M. DiFazio is co-founder and co-CEO of Parallel Bio alongside Juliana Hilliard. A University of Illinois and University of Pittsburgh graduate with postdoctoral training at Stanford, he previously oversaw a $100 million scientific portfolio and eight research programs at Stanford. He and Hilliard founded Parallel Bio in San Francisco in 2021 and joined Y Combinator’s Summer 2021 batch.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & Co-CEO at Parallel Bio
- **Organizations:** Parallel Bio, Stanford University, Y Combinator
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, PhD, Molecular Virology and Microbiology, University of Pittsburgh, Postdoctoral training, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Oversaw a $100 million scientific portfolio and eight large research programs at Stanford., Co-founded Parallel Bio, a Y Combinator Summer 2021 company., Parallel Bio announced a $21 million Series A in June 2025.

## Career timeline

- **2016** — Completed PhD at the University of Pittsburgh.
- **Before 2021** — Completed postdoctoral training at Stanford and served as Director of Strategy and Research Development, overseeing a $100 million scientific portfolio and eight large R&D programs.
- **2021** — Co-founded Parallel Bio with Juliana Hilliard in San Francisco; company participated in Y Combinator Summer 2021.
- **2022** — Parallel Bio announced a $4.3 million seed round led by Refactor Capital on December 20.
- **2025** — Parallel Bio announced a $21 million Series A led by AIX Ventures on June 12.
- **2026** — Parallel Bio announced consolidation of US operations in Brisbane, California on June 16.

## Achievements

- Oversaw a $100 million scientific portfolio and eight large research programs at Stanford.
- Co-founded Parallel Bio, a Y Combinator Summer 2021 company.
- Parallel Bio announced a $21 million Series A in June 2025.
- Parallel Bio was named a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer in 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Featured as a guest in the July 28 MTS livestream.
- **2026-06** — Parallel Bio consolidated US operations at its Brisbane, California headquarters and added five advisors.
- **2026-06** — Parallel Bio was named a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer.

## Links

- Website: https://www.parallel.bio/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rdifazio

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/robert-m-difazio
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-25