AI Chemistry Outfit Secures $95 Million to Accelerate Small Molecule Discovery and Production
Excelsior Sciences Launches Novel "Smart Bloccs" Chemical Platform to Automate Drug Discovery Process
Excelsior Sciences, an artificial intelligence (AI) chemistry firm, is gaining ground on its mission to hasten the discovery and production of small molecules. The New York City-based company has successfully raised $95 million to scale its chemical synthesis platform, invest in its internal pipeline, and forge partnerships across industries, including therapeutics and materials science.
Funding Haul and Corporate Vision:
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Funding: The funding includes a $70 million Series A round co-led by Deerfield, Khosla Ventures, and Sofinnova Partners, supplemented by a $25 million grant from New York’s Empire State Development.
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Vision: Excelsior asserts that it is developing a “new form of chemistry that machines can do and AI can use to enable closed-loop drug discovery.”
The “Smart Bloccs” Technology Breakthrough:
While small molecule drugs constitute the vast majority of prescriptions globally, applying AI to this field requires the ability to make and test new small molecules fast enough to feed data-hungry algorithms.
Excelsior believes it may have cracked the code on automating chemistry, where previous attempts failed to “replicate the traditional artisanal approach to chemical synthesis.” The company’s method is rooted in its “smart bloccs” technology—described as “automated synthesis-friendly chemical building blocks.” The company aims to train AI to work with these modular blocks to derive chemical insights and guide drug discovery.
Strategic Context and Industry Trend:
Excelsior argues that the timing is opportune for its technology’s debut, especially given the recent emphasis on reshoring manufacturing and drug discovery to the U.S. The company notes that it is striving to make reshoring “affordable for both discovery and manufacturing” through its novel chemical approach.
The application of AI in drug discovery is a hot trend. Eli Lilly, an investor in Excelsior, recently inked a major deal to leverage an AI platform for identifying novel therapeutics. However, national analysts have warned that the U.S. is losing its biotech innovation edge and needs to empower researchers to utilize advanced technologies like AI and robotics.
