Outer Biosciences Debuts AI Platform Using Living Human Skin for Bioactive Discovery

Entrepreneur Michael Polansky has launched Outer Biosciences, a startup designed to accelerate the discovery of skincare compounds by merging machine learning with living human tissue. The company aims to modernize dermatological research by replacing outdated testing models with a high-fidelity, AI-driven biological platform.

At the center of the company's operations is YUNA, a platform capable of keeping full-thickness human skin viable outside the body for up to four weeks. Unlike simplified models, YUNA incorporates the epidermis, dermis, and immune-associated programs. Outer Biosciences uses this system to generate proprietary biological data, training machine learning models on its own tissue samples rather than relying on public datasets. This integration allows the company to screen millions of compounds daily to identify new mechanisms of action for skin health.

The Gap in Biological Innovation

Founded in 2022, Outer Biosciences grew out of Polansky's observation that innovation in biology and chemistry has lagged behind the rapid pace of software development. Polansky attributed this disparity to the ethical constraints surrounding human experimentation, which often limit the speed and scale of discovery in the life sciences. Historically, the skincare industry has relied on recombining a limited set of known molecules or using simplified models that do not fully capture the complexity of human biology.

Implications for Dermatological Research

By bridging the gap between AI prediction and living tissue validation, Outer Biosciences seeks to reduce the industry's reliance on animal testing and limited human clinical trials. The YUNA platform utilizes multi-donor datasets from hundreds of individuals, encompassing a wide range of ages, races, genders, and Fitzpatrick skin types. This diversity ensures that the resulting bioactives are tested against a representative spectrum of human biology, potentially leading to more inclusive and effective dermatological treatments.

The Path Forward

As the company moves out of stealth, the industry will be watching to see how these AI-discovered compounds translate into commercial products. While the platform provides a high-fidelity in vitro environment, the transition from automated screening to final human application remains the critical next step. Outer Biosciences intends to use this automated pipeline to discover genuinely new bioactives that were previously unreachable through traditional research methods.