YC Startup ReactWise Raises $3.4M in Pre-Seed to Develop AI-Driven Robotic Labs for Drug Manufacturing
ReactWise, a UK-based startup developing AI-driven robotic laboratories for pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing, has raised $3.4 million in pre-seed funding. The round includes $500,000 from Y Combinator, a £1.2 million (around $1.6 million) grant from Innovate UK, and $1.5 million from unnamed venture capitalists and angel investors.
According to ReactWise, the funding will support the expansion of its AI models and automation platform, which is designed to accelerate process development by up to 30 times.
Founders of ReactWise, Dr. Alexander Pomberger & Dr. Daniel Wigh (source: Business Insider)
ReactWise was founded in July 2024 by Alexander Pomberger and Daniel Wigh to address inefficiencies in drug manufacturing. According to Pomberger, the industry has long relied on slow, trial-and-error methods or staff expertise to optimize chemical processes.
ReactWise’s AI platform aims to reduce the number of iterations needed to establish scalable manufacturing processes—thereby shortening development timelines and reducing costs—by leveraging foundational reactivity models. These AI models are trained on patterns from thousands of high-throughput chemical reactions to predict the most efficient ways to produce compounds. Pomberger noted that the models understand core chemical reaction types, and the company has performed over 300 reactions concurrently using high-throughput screening, with plans to generate 20,000 chemical data points by summer 2025 to cover the most important reaction types in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Dr. Alexander Pomberger in the lab (source: ReactWise)
Pomberger highlighted that the platform’s goal is to achieve "one-shot prediction", enabling the AI to recommend the optimal experiment without multiple iterations—a capability he estimates could be available within two years. In addition, the platform integrates with robotic lab equipment to refine chemical synthesis, addressing a process development phase that can take up to two years in a typical 10- to 12-year drug development cycle. Reducing this phase by as much as 60% could significantly impact commercialization timelines and costs.
ReactWise is currently running 12 pilot studies with major pharmaceutical companies. Pomberger indicated that the first full-scale conversions to subscription-based deployments are expected later this year, involving established players in the industry.
Pomberger described the company’s progress as the culmination of five years of academic research. His doctoral work on automating chemical synthesis with robotic workflows and AI laid the foundation for ReactWise’s technology.
While initially focused on small-molecule drugs, ReactWise is also collaborating with two materials manufacturers on polymer drug delivery systems. Pomberger noted that the flexibility of the platform could enable broader applications beyond pharmaceuticals.
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Topics: Startups & Deals
