In the last 12 months, Google’s efforts to use artificial intelligence to accelerate drug planning have achieved discoveries to imitate human biology and have won its top scientists the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Now isomorphic laboratories, the division within the software giant intended to develop and commercialize technology, is taking another big step: raising money from an external investor.
Isomorphic announced Monday that it had raised $ 600 million, led by Thrive Capital, the business capital company that has bet largely in AI companies, including Openai. Google’s GV, Google’s Arm Capital Capital and the Alphabet, Google’s parent company, also invested.
The announcement highlights Google’s ambitions for Isomorphic, which was launched by the company’s Deepmind laboratory to focus on drug discovery. It is built on software that has developed Deepmind, a central information laboratory in London. This includes Alphafold, which can predict the structure of millions of proteins and much more.
Alphafold, which in its third repetition can now predict the complex behavior of DNA and RNA, has promised to reduce the time of developing new drugs. This is his promise that Demis Hassabis, co -founder of Isomorphic and Deepmind, and John M. Jumper, a deep researcher, shared half of the Nobel in Chemistry last year.
The goal, according to Mr. Hassabis, is to eventually carry out most of the process of discovery through computers, rather than traditional laboratories that require biological materials, strict safety requirements – and a lot of time.
“This is the No. 1 more beneficial application of AI out there,” Mr Hassabis said in an interview. He added, “our mission, one day, is to solve all diseases” with AI
Isomorphic researchs possible treatments, including those focusing on cancer and immune disorders. Last year, he signed research collaborations with two major drug manufacturers, Eli Lilly and Novartis, who could pay billions to payments through promising drug discoveries.
But as with many things related to AI, the work and the recruitment of top research talents for its execution, it is expensive. Mr Hassabis said that isomorphic did not need capital – her parent company reported more than $ 100 billion in profits last year – but that it was reasonable to bring an external partner.
From Mr Hassabis’s thought, this has long been a possibility. But he added that he wanted a stable long -term supporter who also focused deeply on the sciences of life.
Additional money will help isomorphic expand consistent research models such as Alphafold, as well as hire top talents in disciplines.
“The company’s ambition is going to be a complete science life science company so that it requires more funds to create more medicines while investing in the technological platform,” said Vince Hankes, a partner who has led many of the business investments.
Mr Hassabis added that he wanted to be selective to Isomorphic’s associates. Official talks with Thrive were held for a few months.
Capital concentration is another important bet by 15 -year -old Thrive, which has shaken money investing in companies such as Instagram and Stripe Payment Payments. Eventually, it has focused on AI companies, including the recent round at Openai that almost doubled its valuation of $ 157 billion, as well as Databricks analyst provider and programming startup.
“Our hope is that AI radically changes the way of creating and discovering drugs,” said Joshua Kushner, founder and administrator of Thrive. “Isomorphic pushes the limits of what is possible in discovering small molecules.”
Over the next year, isomorphic hopes of making more discoveries on computational models such as Alphafold and may have drug candidates approaching preclinical tests, Mr Hassabis said.
Isomorphic will probably raise money from more external investors, he added. The goal is to be an independent business.
“This will be one of the most subsequent companies around,” he said. “We want to be a real force in the industry.”
