Kimberly
Washington
Co-Founder & CEO at Deep Space Biology
"From Orbit to Impact: Building the Next Frontier in Healthcare R&D"
"From Orbit to Impact: Building the Next Frontier in Healthcare R&D"
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Session: From Orbit to Impact: Building the Next Frontier in Healthcare R&D
This session will explore how space is rapidly transitioning from a government-led frontier into a commercially driven industrial ecosystem, through the lens of space-enabled life sciences. Drawing on my work as Co-Founder and CEO of Deep Space Biology (DSB), I will share how advances in microgravity research, AI, and orbital infrastructure are unlocking entirely new pathways for understanding human health, disease, and drug discovery.The discussion will highlight what it truly takes to build sustainable, investable space ventures, from translating decades of government-funded research into scalable commercial platforms, to navigating capital, partnerships, and global ecosystems. The session will also examine why space is emerging as a foundational layer for future industries, not only beyond Earth, but here on Earth, reshaping healthcare, biotechnology, and the way women leaders can influence the next era of deep-tech innovation.
Key Takeaways
- Empowering women in deep tech isn’t about representation, it’s about unlocking generations of leaders who will transform science, health, and humanity.
Bio
Kimberly Washington is a visionary serial entrepreneur and philanthropist with more than two decades of experience shaping and leading global business ventures. Passionate about harnessing the power of AI, space microgravity, and transformative technologies, Kimberly dedicates her work to advancing healthcare solutions that create profound and lasting benefits for humanity.As the Co-Founder and CEO of Deep Space Biology, Kimberly leads the charge behind Yotta, the world’s first AI space biotech platform. Over the past five years, Yotta has set a global benchmark by standardizing more than 25 years of NASA microgravity research data and applying advanced AI to unlock new healthcare discoveries in collaboration with leading institutions, including the Mayo Clinic and MD Anderson.
Kimberly and the DSB team maintains an ongoing partnership with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology- Center of Excellence for Smart Health, supporting national KSA efforts to accelerate AI-driven health innovation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Her collaboration with KAUST focuses on building advanced research infrastructure, leveraging the DSB founded AI platform, Yotta, by strengthening data ecosystems, and integrating frontier AI technologies to advance precision medicine and next-generation health solutions.
Under her leadership, Deep Space Biology has garnered major recognition: named one of the Top 10 SpaceTech Startups by StartUs Insights, recognized as a NASA Genelab Success Story, winner of the inaugural Humans in Space Global Challenge, selected as a CreateX company by Georgia Tech, and honored among the Codex World’s Top 50 Innovators.
Expanding the company’s impact, Kimberly and her team established DSB Technology, an innovation hub at the intersection of AI, space exploration, and global health. DSB Technology is committed to transforming complexity into clarity, leveraging neuro-symbolic AI, frontier data infrastructures, and deep scientific insights to help organizations unlock the full potential of their data, accelerate breakthroughs, and build solutions for both Earth and space.
A landmark milestone under Kimberly’s leadership was the collaboration with MD Anderson Cancer Center that secured a multi-year NASA / International Space Station Lab / CASIS award for the “Igniting Innovation: Science in Space to Cure Disease on Earth” initiative. In partnership with Axiom Space, BioServe and SpaceX, this mission will send T-cells to the International Space Station to advance cancer research and explore new therapeutic pathways.
Beyond her executive leadership, Kimberly founded Space4Girls in 2019, a global nonprofit empowering young women in STEM and preparing the next generation of leaders in aerospace, AI, and scientific discovery. Through mentorship and hands-on programs across eight countries, Space4Girls fosters confidence, leadership, and a sense of belonging in the frontier industries shaping tomorrow.
Kimberly also co-founded the Global Impact Club in the United Kingdom, uniting visionary leaders to drive system-level change through collaborative innovation.
She serves on several international advisory boards, including:
Generation AI – Reuben College of the University of Oxford
BioAstra, USA
InStream Energy, USA
Leaders on Purpose, UK
Countdown for a Cure, USA
Her recent global speaking engagements reflect her expanding role in shaping AI, health, and space policy, including:
Kimberly is an active participant in the World Economic Forum’s C4IR Saudi Arabia Annual Forum, a Headline Speaker at World Summit AI in Doha, Qatar, sharing DSB’s ongoing strategic partner to the KAUST Center of Excellence for Smart Health in Saudi Arabia. A respected global thought leader, her perspective is frequently sought at leading international forums, including the Leaders on Purpose CEO Summit at UNGA, the Economist Space Summit, the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, LEAP, Abu Dhabi Global Healthcare Week, AI for Healthcare in Paris, and the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
She resides in Napa Valley, California, where she also plays an active role in her family’s agricultural enterprises, grounding her global work in community, stewardship, and purpose.
