Skip to main content
Home
  • Main Menu
  • Topics
    • Video
    • Provider
    • Payer
    • Pharma
    • Consumer
    • Investor

Regions

  • ANZ
  • ASIA
  • EMEA
  • Global Edition
Global Edition
Investing

XtalPi raises $319M for its AI drug research and development platform

The company says it wants to build a system that generates more drug candidates with fewer experiments in less time.
By Mallory Hackett
September 30, 2020
11:36 am
Share

The artificial intelligence-enabled drug research and development startup XtalPi brought home nearly $319 million in its Series C funding round, announced Monday.

SoftBank Vision Fund 2, PICC Capital and Morningside co-led the investment round, while Tencent, Sequoia China, China Life and SIG also made contributions.

WHAT IT DOES

Founded in 2014 by a group of quantum physicists at MIT, XtalPi uses its AI Digital Drug Discovery and Development, or the ID4, platform to assist in pharmaceutical R&D.

The platform combines quantum physics, AI and cloud computing algorithms to assess how drugs react at a molecular level in order to help pharmaceuticals progress through clinical trials.

Ultimately, the company says it wants to build a system that generates more drug candidates with fewer experiments in less time.

"In the past few years, we have focused on developing and validating our platform's capabilities by working with some of the top innovative pharmaceutical and biotech companies in the world," said Dr. Shuhao Wen, chairman and cofounder at XtalPi, in a statement.

"As an advocate and trailblazer in AI drug discovery, our investors and we are heartened by several of our AI drug discovery collaborations that reached milestones in significantly shortened timeframes."

WHAT IT’S FOR

XtalPi plans to use this funding to help make the pharmaceutical R&D process more efficient by expanding its ID4 platform. The company says it will take a three-pronged approach focusing on algorithms, data and computing power to find areas in the research process that can be made smoother.

By building upon its existing platform, XtalPi says it will create a digital-twin drug R&D system that combines its drug predictions with real-world laboratory data to assist in the drug discovery process.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

Integrating technology into the R&D process is becoming more of a common practice, especially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic turned many in-person clinical trials into virtual ones.

In past funding rounds, XtalPi has earned $15 million in a Series B round, followed by $46 million in a B-1 extension.

Other tech-enabled R&D companies include Atomwise and Aetion, which each completed funding rounds of their own this year worth $123 million and $19 million, respectively.

ON THE RECORD

"We believe AI holds the answer to solving pharma's productivity challenge,” Wen said in a statement. “More specifically, XtalPi's AI-powered platform can improve the industry's research efficiency and success rate in order to lower costs for discovering and developing new drugs.

"We look forward to applying our platform to help clients bring more first-in-class and breakthrough drugs to the market and address significant unmet medical needs to benefit patients on a global scale."

 

Tags: 
XtalPi, artificial intelligence, research and design

More regional news

Pharmacist interacting online

Serve You Rx, Amazon Pharmacy partner for home delivery

By
Anthony Vecchione
May 02, 2025
Two people shaking hands with six others watch

DarioHealth closes up to $50M debt refinancing and more funding news

By
Jessica Hagen
May 02, 2025
Smart phone and smart watch

Oura and Google Fitbit partner with academia and others to battle opioid disorder

By
Anthony Vecchione
May 02, 2025
Share

Top Story

Smart phone and smart watch
Oura and Google Fitbit partner with academia and others to battle opioid disorder

Editor's Pick

23andMe files for bankruptcy, CEO Wojcicki resigns
Q&A: Oura appoints its first chief medical officer
First blood pressure management system integrated with DeepSeek in Hong Kong
Emirates will offer inflight telemedicine aboard 300 aircraft
Nanowear announces partnership with Dexcom
Navina raises $55M to expand AI for value-based care

More Stories

Pharmacist interacting online
Serve You Rx, Amazon Pharmacy partner for home delivery
Two people shaking hands with six others watch
DarioHealth closes up to $50M debt refinancing and more funding news
Nurse consulting with patient
Teton unveils 3D hospital digital twin using Denmark's supercomputer
Young person communicating with a cell phone
Talkspace, Bark Technologies partner to monitor children's online activities
Pharmacist giving a person an injection
Plenful scores $50M and more funding news
Person interacting with a healthcare professional via tablet
Teladoc acquires UpLift for $30M, releases first quarter results
Person in a pharmacy setting
Hims & Hers, Novo Nordisk partner to offer weight-loss drug Wegovy
Healthcare professional looking at a PC screen
Commure, HealthTap partner for expanded after-hours care
Home

More News

  • Healthcare IT News
  • Healthcare IT News Australia
  • Healthcare Finance News
  • HIMSS TV

MobiHealthNews

 

Connect

Add MobiHealthNews to your network.
HIMSS25 European Health Conference & Exhibition
HIMSS25 European Health Conference & Exhibition
Get ready for knowledge-sharing, all the latest innovations, and in-depth demos with Europe's most influential healthcare community.
10 - 12 June, 2025 | Paris
Learn More
AI in Healthcare Forum
AI in Healthcare Forum
The HIMSS AI in Healthcare Forum cuts through the hype to showcase real-world examples illustrating the transformative potential, and realistic challenges of AI application across the care continuum.
10 - 11 July 2025 | New York
Learn More

Footer Menu

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Reprints
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

© 2025 MobiHealthNews is a publication of HIMSS Media

X

Topics

  • Video
  • Provider
  • Payer
  • Pharma
  • Consumer
  • Investor

Career

  • Events
  • Jobs
  • Learning Center

More

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Regions

  • ANZ
  • ASIA
  • EMEA
  • Global Edition

MobiHealthNews:

The latest news in digital health delivered daily to your inbox.

Search form

Top Stories

Smart phone and smart watch
Oura and Google Fitbit partner with academia and others to battle opioid disorder
Three surgeons operating on a patient
Thyroid cancer AI assistant developed in Hong Kong
A doctor discussing findings with an older patient
Digital dementia support project gets $2M federal funding and more briefs