Present: Co-founder & MD of @BullpenCap, a post-seed VC fund. Past: led IPO of InterTrust. Co-founder of Covad, SkyPilot, Xumii. Former VC, consultant, lawyer.
Silicon Valley
Joined May 2007
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Duncan Davidson retweeted
A) Let's not forget that a surprising number of people are born with small mitochondrial mutation loads...5-10% mutated mitochondrial DNA is not uncommon.
B) Then they smoke, get viruses, get exposed to toxins, which adds more cumulative mtDNA damage.
C) Then they age, which adds even more cumulative damage.
D) And mitochondrial damage can be localized in certain organs, even in certain regions of the brain, further complicating an insanely complex and poorly-understood system.
Maybe some day clinicians will be able to calculate A+B+C+D accurately.
@chydorina @MitoPsychoBio
Why is it so hard to turn things around with chronic illness?
Why is recovery so difficult?
"Mitochondrial dysfunction (MD) can begin in childhood under the influence of basic factors of an unhealthy lifestyle (overeating with poor diet, nutritional deficiencies, physical inactivity, toxic load on the body)."
"MD can occur and progress in adulthood under the influence of key factors of an unhealthy lifestyle that have a direct damaging effect on mitochondria (smoking, alcohol, and other toxic substances)."
"The development of Mitochondrial dysfunctions in NCDs (non-communicable diseases) can be described in a continuum model, which begins in childhood under the influence of unhealthy lifestyle factors (malnutrition and physical inactivity) leading to functional disorders of the digestive organs, the occurrence of MD in the cells of their tissues, the emergence of a metabolic pattern, and conditions for the occurrence of atherosclerosis."
"Further progression of mitochondrial dysfunction leads to metabolic disorders in the cell, pathological signaling, and the occurrence of pathological histomorphological changes."
"Thus, mitochondrial dysfunction is a universal mechanism that causes organ dysfunction and comorbidity. Continued progression of mitochondrial dysfunction aggravates pathological changes in cells and leads to complications and the end of the continuum—to the death of the organism."
mdpi.com/2079-9721/12/11/277
Duncan Davidson retweeted
It's actually the degeneration of the mitochondrial DNA (mdDNA), to be precise.
Most of us start at birth with super healthy (undamaged) mtDNA. Although a small subset of can be born with 5-10% mutation load, and a very small number of kids have 60% or higher mutation load (and they die very young, and it's horrible).
Then we can acquire more mtDNA damage from drugs, toxins, viral infections, lack of sleep, and stress. Why do smokers die so young? It's not just the cancer, it's also the massive cumulative damage to their mitochondrial DNA caused by smoke.
Then as we age we acquire even more mtDNA damage just from transcription errors over the decades.
All this adds up to energetic decline in various parts of the body (it's not uniform, every organ can be different).
Then major diseases, then eventually old age and failure of entire system.
It's insanely complicated and multifactorial and we are decades away from understanding it.
Duncan Davidson retweeted
And we propose the "best possible way" to deal with all the diseases caused by mitochondrial deficiency...
Is to pump the body full of NEW mitochondria (or more importantly NON-MUTATED mitochondrial DNA)...
Thus restoring your cells back to the high levels of energy production you had when young
We've done up to 12% total bodily upgrade in elderly mice, with wild health improvements And we are already in early safety trials in humans:
longevity.technology/news/ph…
The limitation? Funding of course (US biotech funding has ground to a halt in past 3 years)
@JeffBezos @elonmusk @SecKennedy @mcuban @MikhailaFuller @bengreenfield @davidellison
@PeterDiamandis @friedberg
A radical new theory about energy and mitochondria could explain chronic disease and aging.
sciam.com/article/the-provoc…
Duncan Davidson retweeted
Mitochondria are the "missing link" of modern medicine. They are NOT JUST ORGANELLES. They are co-equal, ultra-powerful, managers of the cell.
They have their own DNA, totally different from the nuclear DNA that most people focus on.
The mitochondrial DNA, if damaged, causes a huge number of deadly diseases. Even mental illness. Yet almost no biologists or scientists think about it. We have no easy tests for it. MDs get maybe 1 day of training...sometimes not even that.
We are blind and don't know we are blind.
Mitochondrial DNA can be damaged from birth, it can be damaged by drugs or environmental insults, and it slowly becomes damaged just from age.
A child with MELAS and 80% mutated mitochondria may die from premature aging diseases (heart attack, neurodegeneration) the same as a grandparent of 94 yrs old or a lifelong smoker at 65 yrs old. All triggered by mitochondrial DNA damage. No mass-produced tests exist to give doctors this critical data.
Here's the point: If we don't ramp up now, with research into mitochondrial DNA, we will not survive the tidal wave of chronic and disabling diseases sinking our economy. We're talking Trillions, not Billions, of dollars.
If we do the research into this unexplored territory, and create therapies, we can achieve an incredible new era of medicine, new health, and healing. Not "in the future." Now.
@MitoPsychoBio @EricTopol @ericweinstein @BillAckman @SecKennedy @mattocko @PalmerLuckey @BillGates @JeffBezos @Schwarzenegger @friedberg @MikhailaFuller @bengreenfield
An unexpected and potentially big finding:
A single mitochondrial protein has an outsized role, acting as a central node, coordinating our circadian clock, temperature, dietary cues, sleep/wake cycle to control brown fat metabolism @ScienceMagazine
science.org/doi/10.1126/scie…
Superintelligence, Humanoids, Space Data Centers with Duncan Davidson -... youtube.com/live/FbbI05K01DU… via @YouTube
SpaceX IPO is a record setter. What to expect? My comments on CNBC. cnbc.com/video/2026/06/04/sp…
Duncan Davidson retweeted
Congresswoman, let’s cut the noise. Trump’s not arming Kurds to storm Tehran—that’s a bloodbath nobody wants, least of all the Kurds.
The streets proved it: regime loyalists outnumber opposition. Regime change from inside? Fantasy.
So Trump’s pivot: arm the Kurds to reclaim their land—western Iran, Kurdistan by blood, mountains, history. Ten million strong, not invaders. Just taking back what’s enforced on them.
Goal? Shrink Tehran. Isolate the Shia core. Cut gas, choke IRGC, leave ’em landlocked and weak—no nukes, no missiles.
If they make peace—with Kurds, Baluch, Arabs, even Jews—sanctions lift. They exist.
If they fight? Suffocate under pressure.
Same logic south: Baluch next. East, Arabs. Piece by piece, the colonial ‘Iran’ unravels—not by conquest, by reality.
This isn’t chaos. It’s stability. Kurds rise first. The rest adjust.
Free Kurdistan.
Duncan Davidson retweeted
Array VC 2025: By the Numbers
9 new investments
5 follow-on investments
2 exits
16 portfolio companies raised capital
AI Labs launched and much more ahead
Can we squeeze in another investment before the year end? Email us dealsatarraydotvc!
I would love to see Canva go public, says Bullpen Capital’s Duncan Davidson cnb.cx/412JmFo
VC Duncan Davidson on CRT (culture religion, technology) AI and the future weoverme.com/p/vc-duncan-dav…
These are the names most likely to IPO in 2025, according to Bullpen's Duncan Davidson cnb.cx/3DzjKHn
OpenAI's robust funding will help it remain private, says Bullpen Capital's Duncan Davidson cnb.cx/3XULFrA
Duncan Davidson retweeted
RPs of this would be greatly appreciated. X does not like links to this site, and the Algo throttles any links with them.
Special Counsel Jack Smith Has Stumbled Into A Barrier He Created -- The "Protective Order" He Insisted On Might Prevent The Release Of Much Of His Evidence This Week , by @shipwreckedcrew open.substack.com/pub/shipwr…
Duncan Davidson retweeted
Manufacturing shows new life, and lessons for the economy | @splunk2
@jens_goennemann @OlegVornik @GilmourAdam #FMiA #Manufacturing #Realpolitech
buff.ly/3Xy79fz
Duncan Davidson retweeted
❄️ @SnowflakeDB Ventures invested in Omni! ❄️
Thanks to the Snowflake team for your continued partnership & our amazing customers for your support 🩷
Check out the blog from @jamiedavidson to learn more 🔗 omni.co/blog/snowflake-inves…
ALT Snowflake Ventures invests in Omni
Duncan Davidson retweeted
Our skills black hole is Australia’s next urgent challenge | @splunk2
#Skills #Realpolitech #FMiA
buff.ly/44WGJpo
Duncan Davidson retweeted
Apple has lost its shine. Here’s what can help it regain luster. trib.al/psiXYPZ
