Deniz Kent (born 1994) is a Turkish scientist, bioengineer, and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and CEO of Prolific Machines, a biotechnology company using light to control cellular behavior. Kent’s work revolutionizes biomanufacturing processes, particularly in the production of cultured meat and biologics.^[1][2]

Deniz Kent was born into a family from Antioch, Turkey, near the Syrian border. Kent pursued his undergraduate studies at the University of Bristol in England from 2012 to 2016, earning a degree in Cellular and Molecular Medicine. He continued his education at King's College London, where he obtained a master’s degree in biomedical and Translational Science, graduating with distinction in 2017.^[1]

He then pursued a PhD in Stem Cell Biology at King's College London from 2017 to 2020. During his doctoral research at the Centre for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, Kent co-discovered a new human liver stem cell population and conducted the world’s first high-throughput small molecule screen using induced pluripotent stem cell-derived hepatocytes.^[3]

Kent started working in the pharmaceutical industry. At GlaxoSmithKline, he worked on developing a single-dose cure for asthma by reprogramming the immune system to induce tolerance instead of inflammation.^[4] His contributions were recognized with an award for outstanding research. His research also included studying CD8 T cells in cancer immunology, focusing on how cancer evades the immune system through adenosine signaling.^[5]

In 2020, Kent co-founded Prolific Machines, headquartered in California, U.S, with the mission to revolutionize cellular agriculture through proprietary biotechnologies that enable cost-effective and scalable cultivated meat production. Along with Max Huisman (CTO) and Declan Jones (CDO), he co-founded Prolific Machines and joined the startup accelerator IndieBio.^[6] By January 2021, the team achieved a major breakthrough—demonstrating that cells could be grown without expensive growth factors, using light-based stimulation.^[7] Unlike conventional approaches that rely on costly recombinant growth factors, Prolific Machines has pioneered a photonic stimulation system to control cell differentiation and tissue formation. This method significantly reduces production costs while enhancing efficiency in cultured meat and biologics manufacturing.^[8]

Under Kent’s leadership, Prolific Machines reportedly raised $42 million in its Series A funding in 2022 and $55 million in Series B in 2024 from investors, including Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Mark Cuban, Kraft Group, Michael Rubin, SOSV, and Arvind Gupta among others.^[6] The company set a record at IndieBio for the fast seed funding round. After emerging from stealth mode at the SALT Conference in 2022, Prolific Machines established its headquarters in Emeryville, California.^[9]

• "Reduction of Z alpha-1 antitrypsin polymers in human iPSC-hepatocytes and mice by LRRK2 inhibitors". Hepatology. 2024-07-01.
• "Validation of Current Good Manufacturing Practice Compliant Human Pluripotent Stem Cell‐Derived Hepatocytes for Cell‐Based Therapy". stem cells translational medicine. 2018-11-01.
• "Single cell analysis of human foetal liver captures the transcriptional profile of hepatobiliary hybrid progenitors". Nature Communications. 2019-07-01.
• "Single-cell analysis identifies EpCAM + /CDH6 + /TROP-2 − cells as human liver progenitors". Citing Preprint. 2018-04-01.
• "Small molecule screen employing patient-derived iPS hepatocytes identifies LRRK2 as a novel therapeutic target for Alpha1 Antitrypsin Deficiency". Preprint. 2021-09-01.