Several startups specializing in AI-powered drug discovery have recently secured substantial funding. Causaly, BenchSci, Iktos, TandemAI, and Protai have all closed significant funding rounds this year. Joining this list is Genesis Therapeutics, which recently announced the completion of a $200 million Series B funding round. This round brings the total funding for the Burlingame, California-based company to over $280 million. Notable investors in this round include Andreessen Horowitz and an undisclosed U.S.-based life-sciences-focused investor.
Other investors that participated in the funding round include BlackRock, NVentures, Menlo Ventures, Radical Ventures, Rock Springs Capital, Fidelity Management & Research Company, and T. Rowe Price Associates.
Founded in 2019 as a Stanford University spinout, Genesis is developing an AI platform called Genesis Exploration of Molecular Space, or GEMS for short. GEMS is designed to generate small-molecule drug compounds for challenging-to-treat diseases across various protein targets. Ben Sklaroff, the startup’s chief technology officer, emphasized that Genesis is currently focused on oncology.
What sets Genesis apart from its competitors is its physics-centric AI platform. The company combines its deep expertise in physics-based methods for computational chemistry with its proprietary machine learning engine. This engine builds foundational 3D models for analyzing protein-ligand complexes.
Sklaroff pointed out that traditional machine learning is limited to interpolating between known chemical matter, lacking a strong understanding of physics. On the other hand, physical methods struggle with new, unseen protein targets and often run slowly. Genesis leverages its fusion of AI and physics-based computational chemistry to offer the best of both worlds in small molecule drug discovery.
Genesis has gained the attention of major pharmaceutical companies. In 2020, the startup entered into a drug discovery partnership with Genentech, and last year, it secured another collaboration with Eli Lilly worth $690 million.
With the new funding, Genesis plans to advance into its clinical testing phase and expand its AI platform to explore new therapeutic targets in different areas. COO Will McCarthy did not provide a specific timeline for when Genesis expects to become a clinical-stage company but assures it will happen in the near future.
Photo: Devrimb, Getty Images
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