BioPharmaTrend
Latest News
All Topics
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • NeuroTech
  • Premium Content
  • Knowledge Center
Interviews
Companies
  • Company Directory
  • Sponsored Case Studies
  • Create Company Profile
More
  • About Us
  • Our Team
  • Advisory Board
  • Citations and Press Coverage
  • Partner Events Calendar
  • Advertise with Us
  • Write for Us
Subscribe
Login/Join

  Latest News

AI for Protein Design: DeepMind Alum’s Startup Comes Out of Stealth with $50M

by Roman Kasianov   •   Feb. 13, 2025  

Disclaimer: All opinions expressed by Contributors are their own and do not represent those of their employers, or BiopharmaTrend.com.
Contributors are fully responsible for assuring they own any required copyright for any content they submit to BiopharmaTrend.com. This website and its owners shall not be liable for neither information and content submitted for publication by Contributors, nor its accuracy.

# AI & Digital   
Share:   Share in LinkedIn  Share in Bluesky  Share in Reddit  Share in Hacker News  Share in X  Share in Facebook  Send by email

Latent Labs, a company developing AI models for computational protein design, has raised $50 million in funding and announced its emergence from stealth. The funding includes a $40 million Series A, co-led by Radical Ventures and Sofinnova Partners, with participation from Flying Fish, Isomer, 8VC, Kindred Capital, and Pillar VC. Additional investors include Google Chief Scientist Jeff Dean, Aidan Gomez (Cohere), and Mati Staniszewski (ElevenLabs).

#advertisement
How BenchSci’s ASCEND Builds a Map for Biomedical Reasoning

Latent Labs aims to apply generative AI techniques to create new protein structures. The company's platform is designed to assist researchers in generating and optimizing therapeutic molecules, including antibodies and enzymes, with the goal of improving molecular properties such as affinity and stability.

The company is led by Simon Kohl, who previously co-developed AlphaFold2 and co-led DeepMind’s protein design team. Other key members include Alex Bridgland, who contributed to AlphaFold 1, 2, and 3; Annette Obika-Mbatha, formerly a Program Manager at DeepMind’s AI for Science team; and Dave Yuan, who has worked on synthetic biology platforms at Zymergen and Mammoth Biosciences. 

The technical team includes researchers with backgrounds in foundation models, antibody design, and AI-driven biology, such as Jonathan Crabbé (formerly at Microsoft Research), Henry Kenlay (previously at Exscientia), and Sebastian Schmon (who developed generative models for biology at Altos Labs). Supporting operations, Sandy Nelson, former head of DeepMind’s Science Team, advises on strategy and talent, while Krishan Bhatt and Sarah Watzek, both with DeepMind hiring experience, lead talent acquisition. The team is based across London and San Francisco, with a focus on both AI model development and experimental validation in laboratory settings.

Latent Labs London team (From left to right: Annette Obika-Mbatha, Krishan Bhatt, Dr Simon Kohl, Agrin Hilmkil, Alex Bridgland and Henry Kenlay)

Aaron Rosenberg, a partner at Radical Ventures and former Head of Strategy & Operations at DeepMind, stated that Latent Labs is positioned to advance de novo protein design, a capability that has gained attention following breakthroughs in AI-driven protein structure prediction. Edward Kliphuis of Sofinnova Partners also highlighted:

"Latent Labs transforms biology from an observational science into an engineering craft, granting us precise control over life’s building blocks. In practical terms, it means crafting bespoke molecules that tackle challenges once thought insurmountable. It’s a revolution in our ability to harness nature’s building blocks to develop breakthrough treatments and transform our lives. With pharmaceutical companies overwhelmingly demanding agile, next-generation tools to accelerate discovery and improve patient outcomes, Latent Labs is at the forefront of this rapidly growing market need."

Topics: AI & Digital   

Share:   Share in LinkedIn  Share in Bluesky  Share in Reddit  Share in Hacker News  Share in X  Share in Facebook  Send by email
#advertisement
ThermoFisher Scientific: Integrated genetic technologies for cell therapy development
#advertisement
Webinar: AI in Clinical Trials

BiopharmaTrend.com

Where Tech Meets Bio
mail  Newsletter
in  LinkedIn
x  X
gnews  Google News
rss  RSS Feed

About


  • What we do
  • Citations and Press Coverage
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer

We Offer


  • Premium Content
  • BioTech Scout
  • Interviews
  • Partner Events
  • Case Studies

Opportunities


  • Membership
  • Advertise
  • Submit Company
  • Write for Us
  • Contact Us

© BPT Analytics LTD 2025
We use cookies to personalise content and to analyse our traffic. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website. Read more details in our cookies policy.