Metabiota
{{Short description|Company based in California, US}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Metabiota Inc.
| logo =
| image =
| image_caption =
| type = Independent Business
| foundation = {{Start date and age|df=yes|2008}}
| founder = Nathan Wolfe
| area_served =
| key_people = Nita Madhav (CEO)
Edward Rubin (Chief Scientific Officer)
| industry =
| location = San Francisco, California, United States
| num_employees = 51-200https://www.linkedin.com/company/metabiota {{Self-published source|date=June 2022}}
| homepage = [https://metabiota.com/ metabiota.com]
}}
Metabiota is a San Francisco startup that compiles data from around the world to predict disease outbreaks.{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/05/20/metabiota-pulls-in-30-million-in-funding-to-help-predict-the-global-spread-of-disease/|title=Metabiota Pulls In $30 Million In Funding To Help Predict The Global Spread Of Disease}} The company is a partner with USAID's PREDICT and PREVENT programs.{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/4766624/next-global-security/|title=The Next Global Security Threat Isn't What You Think|magazine=Time}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/fact-sheets/emerging-pandemic-threats-program|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200414001954/https://www.usaid.gov/news-information/fact-sheets/emerging-pandemic-threats-program|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 14, 2020|title=Emerging Pandemic Threats | Fact Sheet|date=July 12, 2021|website=USAID}} In the early months of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, Metabiota and BlueDot independently demonstrated the capabilities of computer analytics to map the future spread of the virus between countries.{{Cite journal|title=The Rise of Machine Intelligence in the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Impact on Health Policy|first=Zaheer|last=Allam|date=March 31, 2020|journal=Surveying the Covid-19 Pandemic and Its Implications|pages=89–96|doi=10.1016/B978-0-12-824313-8.00006-1|pmc=7378493|isbn=9780128243138}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/1/28/21110902/artificial-intelligence-ai-coronavirus-wuhan|title=How AI is battling the coronavirus outbreak|first=Rebecca|last=Heilweil|date=January 28, 2020|website=Vox}}
In an effort to expand its business offerings, Metabiota teamed up with insurance groups Marsh, African Risk Capacity and Munich Re to provide data for outbreak coverage.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/virus-hunter-metabiota-finds-niche-in-epidemic-research-1432155621|title=Virus Hunter Metabiota Finds Niche in Epidemic Research|first=Bradley|last=Hope|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=May 20, 2015|via=www.wsj.com}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20181104/NEWS06/912324901/Business-Insurance-2018-Innovation-Awards-PathogenRX-Marsh-Munich-Re-Metabiota|title=2018 Innovation Awards: PathogenRX|website=Business Insurance}} Coverage would pay out to governments or companies based on stages of severity of an outbreak to help pay the cost to respond.
Google invested $1 million into the company while also planning to act as a partner to provide expertise in data analysis.{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-VCDB-17792|title=The Daily Startup: Google Ventures Backs Metabiota to Forecast Disease Outbreaks|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=September 24, 2015|via=www.wsj.com}} Hunter Biden's Rosemont Seneca Technology Partners was reported to have a 13.4% stake in the company in 2014.{{Cite news|url=https://www.politifact.com/article/2022/apr/01/facts-behind-russian-right-wing-narratives-claimin/|title=The facts behind the Russian, right-wing narratives claiming Hunter Biden funded biolabs in Ukraine
}} This investment and Metabiota's work with Black & Veatch at labs in Ukraine led to the company being flagged in Russia's bioweapons claims during its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.{{Cite news|url=https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202203/29/WS62426127a310fd2b29e53d95.html|title=Hunter Biden's old emails linked to Ukraine labs}}
The company had staff stationed in Kenema supporting the Sierra Leone government when the Western African Ebola virus epidemic began. Médecins Sans Frontières criticized the company for failing to discover early cases, and for not sharing data or contact tracing information. Metabiota responded, saying they were restricted to reporting only to the local government.{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/ebola/11488726/Guinea-and-Sierra-Leone-tried-to-cover-up-Ebola-crisis-says-Medecins-Sans-Frontieres.html|title=Guinea and Sierra Leone tried to cover up Ebola crisis, says Medecins Sans Frontieres|website=www.telegraph.co.uk}}{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/3069876/ebola-outbreak-truth/|title=The Truth About Ebola|magazine=Time}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/nation-world/ct-bungled-ebola-respone-20150920-story.html|title=AP Investigation: Bungling by UN agency hurt Ebola response|first=Tribune wire|last=reports|website=chicagotribune.com}}