Western North Carolina has long been rich in botanical knowledge, biodiversity, and a culture of healing, but these assets have rarely been connected to modern discovery and commercialization engines. This presentation will explore how Sensorium’s AI-powered natural products platform brings together ethnobotanical insight, large-scale biological data, and computational discovery tools to identify promising compounds for human health. It will also examine how this approach could support a broader regional opportunity: positioning Western North Carolina as a center of gravity for natural products innovation. By linking scientific discovery with cultivation, validation, entrepreneurship, and commercialization, the region has the potential to build a more connected ecosystem that creates economic value while advancing new models for science-backed healing.