Michael Polansky is training an AI model on skin that’s still alive
Not a celebrity vanity project. Michael Polansky is training AI on living human tissue to discover skincare compounds — a novel data source that could reshape how biotech validates molecules before human trials.
Why it matters
This represents a novel application of AI training on biological systems (living skin tissue as a data source for compound discovery), which is a frontier capability play in biotech AI. The ability to train models on live tissue rather than static datasets or animal models is a methodological breakthrough that practitioners in biotech and AI need to understand.
The key facts
10 to knowMichael Polansky (Lady Gaga's partner, former Sean Parker deputy) founded the startup
Company keeps living human skin tissue alive for weeks outside the body
AI trained on live tissue to discover new skincare compounds
Stealth phase lasted years before public disclosure in August 2026
Novel training data source: living biological tissue vs. traditional static datasets
Michael Polansky (Sean Parker's former deputy, Lady Gaga's partner) leading the startup
AI model trained on living human skin tissue kept viable ex-vivo for weeks
Goal: discover new skincare compounds via AI-driven biological screening
Stealth operation for years; public announcement only recent
Novel training data source: biological substrate vs. traditional datasets
Go to the source
TechCrunch AItechcrunch.com
Publisher excerpt: Michael Polansky — better known publicly as Lady Gaga's partner and a former top deputy to Sean Parker — has quietly spent years building an AI-driven startup that keeps living human skin tissue alive for weeks outside the body to discover new skincare compounds, and is only now going public about…