Synfini raises $8.9M in funding to accelerate AI-driven drug discovery

Drug discovery is slow, expensive, and often gets bogged down in manual chemistry work that hasn’t changed much in decades. Synfini thinks there’s a better way—and now it has an extra $8.9 million to prove it.

The California-based startup transforming small-molecule drug discovery with its AI cloud foundry has announced an $8.9 million funding expansion led by JSL Health Capital, bringing its total raise to $53 million across venture capital and non-dilutive grants.

The round also brings in a strong syndicate of early-stage investors, including SRI Ventures, WERU Investments, Ferocity Capital, High Water Venture Partners, Foothill Ventures, Trust Ventures, Gaingels, and Mana Ventures.

The fresh capital will go toward scaling its operations, expanding customer partnerships, and hiring across its scientific and engineering teams.

AI Drug Discovery Startup Synfini Adds $8.9M, Speeds Up Molecule Design with Cloud Foundry

Synfini will also use the new capital to grow its commercial footprint, expand its software and lab automation tools, and deepen work in areas like GPCR-targeted drugs and precision oncology

Founded by experts in synthetic chemistry and machine learning, Synfini is betting that faster workflows and smarter automation can make a real dent in how drugs get made—and how long patients have to wait for them.

At the heart of Synfini’s pitch is its AI Cloud Foundry platform—a system that combines artificial intelligence with automated synthesis and molecular design. In short, the company is trying to compress what normally takes months into a few days. Instead of traditional, manual chemistry labs working step-by-step, Synfini’s approach connects digital and physical chemistry in a single workflow.

The platform handles everything from compound design to synthesis, removing bottlenecks that often slow down early-stage drug development. Since spinning out of SRI in 2023, the company has already seen traction through early partnerships and pilot programs.

“We’re building the next generation of drug discovery infrastructure,” said CEO Doug Donzelli. “This funding enables us to move faster, go broader with our platform, and deepen our relationships with both biotech innovators and large pharma.”

JSL Health, the lead investor, sees Synfini’s platform as a full-stack chemistry operating system. “Synfini is the rare company that emerges from the foam, fully formed,” said Lekan Wang, Managing Partner at JSL. “After years of R&D at legendary research outfit SRI, Synfini’s end-to-end medicinal chemistry AI platform demonstrably shortens small molecule iteration cycles from months to just days. Project planning, property prediction, reaction routes, and synthesis––all included and fully integrated into a chemistry operating system built with chemists and biologists in mind.”

Xuhui Shao from Foothill Ventures added, “Through its technology and expert application of AI, Synfini has demonstrated the ability to fundamentally change the quality, speed, and cost of small molecule discovery.”