# Weston Kightlinger

> Weston Kightlinger is the CEO and co-founder of Ridge Bio (Ridge Biotechnologies), a Palo Alto biotech that left stealth in September 2025 with $25 million in seed funding to design precision enzymes and targeted therapeutics by pairing machine learning with massive cell-free laboratory datasets. A Northwestern-trained scientist with a background in cell-free protein synthesis and protein glycosylation, he turned a decade of bench work into a company whose advisory board reads like a who's-who of chemical biology, including Nobel laureate Carolyn Bertozzi.

- **Role:** CEO and Co-founder at Ridge Bio
- **Organizations:** Ridge Bio (Ridge Biotechnologies), Northwestern University
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** PhD (cell-free synthetic biology / chemical and biological engineering), Northwestern University
- **Known for:** Co-founded and leads Ridge Bio, which raised a $25M seed round (Sutter Hill Ventures, Morse VC, Overlap)., Distinguished Graduate Researcher Award, top of the 2019 class at Northwestern University., National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship recipient.

## Career timeline

- **2014-2019** — PhD research at Northwestern University, focused on cell-free protein synthesis and protein glycosylation; named Distinguished Graduate Researcher (top of 2019 class).
- **2019-2024** — Worked in the San Francisco Bay Area / South San Francisco biotech ecosystem applying cell-free and synthetic biology methods.
- **2025-09** — Ridge Bio emerges from stealth with $25M seed financing; Kightlinger serves as CEO and co-founder.

## Achievements

- Co-founded and leads Ridge Bio, which raised a $25M seed round (Sutter Hill Ventures, Morse VC, Overlap).
- Distinguished Graduate Researcher Award, top of the 2019 class at Northwestern University.
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship recipient.
- Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship honoree.
- SynBioBeta Rising Star Award (on behalf of Ridge Bio).
- Author of 10+ peer-reviewed publications, including in Nature Communications and ACS Synthetic Biology.

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — Ridge Bio launched from stealth with $25 million in seed funding and unveiled its NativeLink, ProTrigger, and Catalytic Medicines platforms.

## Links

- Website: https://ridgebio.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/weston-kightlinger

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/weston-kightlinger
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-20