Wang Jun (王俊)

What makes Wang Jun a Global Shaker?

Dr. Wang Jun (王俊) is a scientist, the former CEO of the Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI), and the founder and CEO of iCarbonX. The iCarbonX platform combines genomics with other health factors to allow users to better manage their health and receive tailored medical treatment. The platform actually develops a digital representation of the user to help perfect a suggested course of action and operate as a one-stop shop for health and wellness. The platform would provide anything nutrition recommendations to genetic analysis.

“The population is becoming more and more interested in personal health management,” Jun said in an Interbrand interview. “However, it also depends on how people understand and participate in contributing accurate and high-quality data.”

It is one of only three healthcare start-ups in China to attain a valuation of more than $1 billion, making it a unicorn startup, with Ma Huateng’s Tencent being one of the large-scale investors. In 2016, iCarbonX acquired Israel-based image recognition start-up Imagu Vision Technologies, and it now leads the company’s computational biology and AI operations worldwide.

The name was chosen by the company because carbon is the central element of all life on earth. It is sandwiched between ‘i’ and ‘x,’ which symbolise the company’s vision to combine the internet and artificial intelligence to create something never done before.

Prior to iCarbonX, Jun founded the bioinformatics group at BGI while completing his PhD at Peking University. This group led China’s contribution to sequencing 1 percent of the Human Genome Project.

Jun has received numerous honors throughout his career, such as the Human Genome Organization’s 2015 Chen Award for Distinguished Academic Achievement in Human Genetic and Genomic Research, Outstanding Science and Technology Achievement Award from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Fortune’s 40 under 40 list in 2013.

Last updated: April 23, 2019

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