Isomorphic Labs raises $600M to supercharge AI drug discovery

Isomorphic Labs, a UK startup spun out of Google DeepMind in 2021, has raised $600 million in its first external funding round. The round was led by Thrive Capital (backers of OpenAI), with participation from Alphabet and Google Ventures. The injection underscores Google's confidence in AI-powered drug discovery. CEO Demis Hassabis said the funding will "turbocharge" the development of their next-generation AI drug design engine and help advance their own programs into clinical development, with a mission of one day solving all diseases with AI.

The startup builds on DeepMind's Nobel Prize-winning AlphaFold, which predicts protein structures with remarkable accuracy. Isomorphic Labs is applying this technology to design new drugs, currently focusing on cancer and immune disorders. Last year, it signed major research partnerships with pharmaceutical giants Eli Lilly and Novartis. The company positions itself at the intersection of AI and life sciences, aiming to dramatically speed up the traditionally slow and expensive drug discovery process. With this funding, Isomorphic Labs plans to expand its team and push its proprietary pipeline toward clinical trials.