A life science startup developing a “virtual scientist” drug discovery platform has secured a pre-seed investment of £1.6m.
Kiin Bio said the new investment would allow it to launch its platform using generative AI to speed up the process of developing new treatments.
The drug discovery market has been a major adopter of automated technologies due to the costly and fragmented traditional process.
Figures cited by the London-based startup suggest the generative AI drug discovery market is projected to generate up to $110bn annually.
Among the most prominent British players in the market is Isomorphic Labs, a spinout of DeepMind that secured a $600m investment earlier this year.
“The future of drug discovery isn’t just better tools and data, it’s smarter integration,” said Filippo Abbondanza, chief executive and co-founder of Kiin Bio.
“We see a future where an AI-driven Platform unifies this fragmented landscape, turning thousands of disjointed solutions into a cohesive engine for breakthroughs.
“We’re happy to have won such renowned investors who back our mission to build the pioneering Virtual Scientist Platform for drug discovery.”
The funding round was led by b2venture and included participation from Heartfelt, rule30 and a handful of angels.
“Kiin Bio is building the missing layer in biotech: an AI-native agentic infrastructure that redefines how drug discovery is done, tackling a huge global, and fragmented market,” said Andreas Goeldi, a partner at b2venture.
“Their groundbreaking approach of orchestrating all relevant tools and solutions into a cohesive Virtual Scientist Platform is bold, timely, and transformative.
“We’re excited to be backing this strong team. Right from the start we have been impressed by their unique blend of scientific depth, technical execution and business acumen.”
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