Google-backed AI drug discovery startup Isomorphic Labs raises $600 million in first funding round

Isomorphic Labs, a drug discovery startup spun out of Google DeepMind, just announced it has raised $600 million in its first round of external funding. The raise was led by Thrive Capital, with participation from Google Ventures and Alphabet, which had previously backed the company.

Isomorphic will use the fresh capital infusion to grow its team and speed up research and development. Hassabis recently hinted that Isomorphic expects to have AI-designed drugs in clinical trials by the end of 2025—a major milestone if they hit that target.

Founded in 2021, Isomorphic was launched as a spin-off from DeepMind, Alphabet’s AI research unit. We covered the startup last year after signing a $3 billion deal with pharma giants Lilly and Novartis.

“We’re excited to bring together a top-tier investor group with deep AI and life sciences expertise as we aim to transform this industry through an interdisciplinary approach,” said Isomorphic Labs founder and CEO, Sir Demis Hassabis. “This funding will further turbocharge the development of our next-generation AI drug design engine, help us advance our own programs into clinical development, and is a significant step forward towards our mission of one day solving all disease with the help of AI.”

The effort is being led by Demis Hassabis, who also runs DeepMind. Hassabis has stayed at the helm of both companies, bringing years of experience in AI research to the table.

One of Isomorphic’s biggest breakthroughs so far is its work on AlphaFold, a tool that can predict the structure of nearly all known proteins. Last May, the company released the third version of the model—building on research that has already earned DeepMind recognition from the scientific community.

”At Thrive, we aim to invest in category-defining companies with singular conviction, and that has led us to Isomorphic Labs,” said Joshua Kushner, Founder and CEO of Thrive Capital. “We believe Isomorphic has earned a rare position to define a new age of drug discovery and design, and we are deeply inspired by their mission and the extraordinary progress they have made to date.”

Why It Matters

Big Tech isn’t slowing down on AI, and the competition to bring AI into healthcare is heating up. Investors are betting heavily on startups using machine learning to tackle pharmaceutical research—one of the areas where AI might actually move the needle in the near term.

The company is based in London and is quickly becoming one of the most-watched names in AI-driven drug development.