From Tech Exit to Cancer Research: Maor Shlomo Launches Second Light Fund
Israeli tech entrepreneur Maor Shlomo, who sold Base44 to Wix for $80 million, launched the Second Light fund to invest in cancer research. Shlomo discusses how artificial intelligence is transforming medical discovery, the challenges of biological validation, and the future of healthcare.
Maor Shlomo, a 32-year-old Israeli tech entrepreneur who recently sold his company Base44 to Wix for approximately $80 million, is channeling his personal tragedy into a new philanthropic venture called Second Light. After losing his mother to lung cancer, Shlomo founded the private fund to invest in cancer research and the development of novel treatments. Speaking at the Rambam Tomorrow conference, organized by ynet and the Rambam Health Care Campus, Shlomo reflected on the intersection of artificial intelligence and medicine.
Despite building his career on AI, Shlomo emphasizes that technology alone is not a panacea. "Even when AI succeeds in solving many medical problems, at the end of the day you need a doctor to sit across from the patient, understand them, and give them hope," he stated. Reflecting on his mother's care at Rambam, Shlomo noted that while the medical treatment was exceptional, the lingering frustration with the disease inspired him to establish Second Light.
The Bottleneck of Validation in Medical AI
Shlomo argues that the primary constraint in modern medicine is no longer generating ideas, but rather testing them. According to Shlomo, AI can already generate new drug candidates and molecular structures at an unprecedented scale, but physical validation remains a major hurdle.
"The AI is the fastest and smartest biologist and chemist. But even the smartest biologist and chemist need to try it out in reality," Shlomo explained.
In the software world, ideas are cheap and execution is everything. Shlomo believes this dynamic is now shifting to medicine. The true bottleneck lies in the ability to test these hypotheses physically on cells, in laboratories, and eventually in living tissue. He points to mathematics as a precedent, where AI can immediately test its own hypotheses and accelerate discovery. In medicine, however, bridging the gap between digital simulation and biological reality is much more complex.
Simulating Human Biology Outside the Body
When asked what problem he would solve with an unlimited budget, Shlomo pointed to the development of advanced organoids—human cells grown in laboratories to simulate specific organs or tumors. Replicating the human body remains an immensely difficult challenge. For example, testing immunotherapies, which rely on a patient's own immune system, is exceptionally hard in a basic cell dish lacking immune cells.
Improved laboratory simulation would allow researchers to observe how a patient might react to a drug and measure its toxicity long before human clinical trials begin. This could potentially reduce reliance on animal testing, which often yields poor predictability for human patients, and streamline the regulatory pathway for breakthrough treatments.
Transforming the Role of Physicians
Addressing the integration of AI into clinical workflows, Shlomo cautions against unrealistic expectations. "It's not that we are going to turn everyone into doctors, but rather that we will help doctors do much more," he noted. Comparing AI's impact on medicine to its impact on software engineering, he argues that AI acts as a multiplier of productivity rather than a replacement for human expertise.
Modern physicians face an overwhelming burden: processing vast amounts of medical literature and patient data while maintaining empathy and bedside manner. Shlomo believes AI will rapidly absorb the knowledge-management burden, freeing up clinicians to focus on direct patient care. However, successful integration requires robust IT infrastructure and comprehensive patient data integration—including imaging, DNA sequencing, symptoms, and family history—to maintain clinical trust.
Looking ahead, Shlomo remains optimistic about the future of oncology and healthcare. While regulatory frameworks struggle to keep pace with rapid technological advancements, he advises innovators to build for the future rather than the current technological baseline. "We are in an amazing period. We will see solutions in our lifetime, and the only question is how fast," Shlomo concluded.
