China AI drug developer BioMap raises $100m
GGV Capital has led a $100 million Series A round for BioMap, a China-based biological computing platform. It marks the first time the company has sought external funding.
Other investors include Baidu, Legend Capital, BlueRun Ventures, Verity Ventures, and Xiang He Capital. The new capital will go towards R&D and recruitment.
The company was seeded by Baidu and Robin Li, Baidu's founder and CEO, is also founder and chairman of BioMap. Baidu and Li are both described in a statement as having re-upped in the Series A.
Established in 2020, BioMap focuses on immune mechanisms relating to tumors, autoimmune diseases, and fibrotic diseases. Combining artificial intelligence (AI), advanced computing and biotechnology, it maps out disease targets and drug design, accelerating the development of new treatments and diagnostic products. The goal is to build global first-in-class innovative drugs.
"AI and life sciences are the two most promising directions in the 21st century. The acceleration of drug discovery by AI has been widely regarded as one of the most promising fields in life sciences in the future," said Chenyao Wu, a partner at GGV.
"BioMap's starting point is the complex human immune mechanism and the underlying biological sciences. Such wholesome thinking and systematic methods can be used to build a full chain of capabilities from target discovery and binding mechanisms to druggability, screening, and even production processes."
Richard Li, president of Legend Capital, added that BioMap represents the second collaboration between his firm and Baidu this year. The first was the spin-out of Kunlun, Baidu's AI chip unit, in March.
Legend Capital has existing exposure to AI-driven inovative drug development through StoneWise, having led the first tranche of a Series B round in April. The entire Series B, comprising two tranches, was worth $100 million.
One of the Chinese leaders in this space is Insilico Medicine, which has closed a $255 million Series C round in June. Other notable players include China and US-based XtalPi, which closed a $319 million Series C last September.
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