University of Glasgow spinout firm Chemify said it has raised over $50 million in Series B funding from mainly US-based investment funds to help accelerate its mission of becoming “the global leader in digital chemistry, molecular design and manufacturing.”
Chemify said the oversubscribed round was co-led by Palo Alto-based Wing Venture Capital and New York-based Insight Partners, with participation from a syndicate of investors including Austin-based 8VC and existing backers Eos, Triatomic Capital of New York, Berlin-based Blueyard and Houston-based Rockspring.
The Glasgow firm said it now plans to open a Silicon Valley facility. Ansuman Satpathy of Wing Venture Capital and Aiden Aceves of Insight Partners have joined Chemify’s board of directors.
Chemify is a deep-tech pioneer fusing chemistry, robotics, computation and “Chemputation” — Chemify’s purpose-built AI to digitize molecule creation.
“Chemify aims to become the global digital backbone of chemistry, enabling fast design and discovery,” said Lee Cronin, CEO and founder of Chemify.
“Our vision is that Chemify will be able to design and make any molecule on demand for our customers across all of chemistry from drug discovery to new catalysts and electronic materials. The next step in our evolution is nothing short of a revolution in the digitization and automation of chemical discovery and manufacturing.”
Earlier this year, Chemify launched its first Chemifarm, a fully automated chemistry facility built to be the world’s most advanced laboratory for molecular design and synthesis.
“At its core, the Chemifarm integrates Chemify’s Chemputation platform, an extensible programming language, advanced robotics, and the world’s largest curated library of validated reactions,” said Chemify.
“The platform opens new frontiers in the rapid, data-driven creation of molecules once deemed inaccessible.
“The new Series B financing allows Chemify to expand this blueprint globally, building a network of digital chemistry hubs and delivering on-demand molecule design and manufacturing to pharmaceutical, biotech and materials-science partners everywhere.”
Chemify said it plans to open a Silicon Valley facility led by Chief Technical Officer Mike Bell.
“This growth will enhance Chemify’s ability to deliver on-demand molecular design, optimization and synthesis, dramatically compressing the timeline from concept to compound,” said Chemify.
“The company’s goal is to lead the discovery of life-changing medicines and next-generation materials while establishing a new global standard for how small molecules are developed and manufactured.”
Ansuman Satpathy, partner at Wing Venture Capital, said: “Chemify’s technology uses automation and physical AI to enable the digitization of chemistry, transforming chemical synthesis from an art to a programmable science.
“We are excited to support the team’s progress as they empower scientists to create novel molecules with unmatched efficiency and precision. Their work has the potential to drive significant advancements in drug discovery and medicine.”
Aiden Aceves, Vice President at Insight Partners, said: “Lee is an iconoclast with the wind at his back. Chemify’s use of AI to ensure the makeability of complex molecules is a paradigm shift for how medicinal chemistry is done today, and the company’s vision is matched by the strong results seen across their early pharma collaborations.”