Latent Labs, led by former DeepMind researcher Dr. Simon Kohl, comes out of stealth with $50 million in capital to develop AI-driven synthetic protein design to accelerate drug discovery.
Latent Labs, a stealthy new biotech company, has emerged from stealth with a hefty $50 million funding. It is led by Dr. Simon Kohl, who had spearheaded senior research at DeepMind and co-led its protein design team. Latent Labs is poised to revolutionize drug discovery with advanced artificial intelligence.
Through the use of generative AI, Latent Labs is creating synthetic proteins, including druglike molecules like antibodies and enzymes. The technique is intended to speed up drug creation by making biology “programmable” and reducing the time and expense of bringing new treatments to market.
Unlike the majority of AI-driven biotech firms that partner with pharma to develop in-house medicines, Latent Labs will operate as a service provider. Latent Labs will offer its generative AI platform to pharma partners to enable them to design and optimize proteins with improved molecular properties, such as affinity and stability. The approach will be utilized to reduce drug development timelines and enhance success rates.
The $50 million round was co-led by Radical Ventures and Sofinnova Partners, with participation from leading angel investors such as Cohere founder Aidan Gomez and Google Chief Scientist Jeff Dean. Latent Labs has assembled a world-class team with expertise from leading tech and biotech companies, placing it at the cutting edge of computational biology innovation.
Dr. Kohl’s resignation from DeepMind to begin Latent Labs demonstrates his belief in the need for an expert-level application of protein design. He makes it clear again that applying AI breakthroughs to real-world use is best realized through focused initiatives outside of large organizations.
Latent Labs, which has offices in London and San Francisco, is well positioned to collaborate with pharmaceutical companies globally and offer cutting-edge tools to accelerate drug design programs and ultimately patients.
