Synopsis
AI drug discovery firm Isomorphic Labs secured a massive $2.1 billion funding round, aiming to accelerate its mission to cure all diseases. Led by Thrive Capital, the investment will scale their drug design engine, with initial clinical trials now anticipated by late 2026.The funding round, completed at an undisclosed valuation, also included other existing investors, Google Ventures and Alphabet, along with new backers MGX, Temasek and CapitalG.
The development comes amid a broader industry push to demonstrate practical applications of AI in the healthcare sector, including its ability to accelerate research and development along with shortening drug discovery timelines.
"This capital injection allows us to build out our drug design engine at scale, driving us forward in our mission to solve all diseases," said founder and CEO Demis Hassabis.
Isomorphic was founded in 2021 as a spin-off from Google DeepMind, an AI research lab acquired by Alphabet in 2014.
One of DeepMind and Hassabis' most celebrated breakthroughs was AlphaFold, an AI program that can predict protein structures, which can help scientists design drugs and target diseases more effectively.
"Now that we have shown our approach is fundamentally sound, our focus is on scaling our technology to its full potential," said Hassabis.
The company now expects its first clinical trials by the end of 2026 - a delay from the CEO's earlier target of having AI-designed drugs in trials by the end of 2025.
The London-based company raised $600 million in its first funding round last year, also led by Thrive Capital, a major backer of AI-focused companies.
The company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the valuation.
