Pharmacelera Raises €6M to Expand U.S. Operations and Advance AI Drug Discovery Platform

Pharmacelera, a deep tech company applying Quantum Mechanics and Artificial Intelligence to revolutionize drug discovery, has closed a €6 million investment round to accelerate its expansion in the United States and grow the capabilities of its proprietary platform. The round was led by Heran Partners, a leading life sciences investor, and joined by Clave Capital, a long-standing tech transfer investor; Inveready, a Spanish alternative asset manager with a dedicated life sciences strategy; and Bio&Tech Smart Capital, a specialist investor in healthtech and science-based innovation.

This investment round will help Pharmacelera grow further and faster – firstly, by establishing a permanent team in the U.S., and secondly, by enabling the Company to expand the technical capabilities of its unique QaiM drug discovery engine in key growth areas. The funding will allow Pharmacelera to establish a permanent US presence. The firm will start with a team in Boston, Massachusetts, to expand its relationships with major pharmaceutical and biotech companies on both the East and West Coasts.

Utilizing its proprietary Quantum Mechanics and Artificial Intelligence ("QaiM") algorithms, Pharmacelera is revolutionizing drug discovery by finding novel and diverse molecular candidates across the vast chemical "exaSpace" with unprecedented speed, efficiency and accuracy. It can generate molecules that are up to 10 times better, 75,000 times faster, than traditional AI-led drug discovery approaches. Its technology can be applied to small molecules and small peptides in all stages of drug discovery – from hit identification, through hit-to-lead, to lead optimization.

The CEO stated: "The first wave of AI-powered drug discovery promised a lot but delivered comparatively little. Pharmacelera is changing the picture, by coupling AI with quantum-based simulations to leverage the exaSpace – the vast, undiscovered universe of trillions of molecules – to find highly novel drug candidates that are up to 10 times better, using a process that's up to 75,000 times faster than traditional AI-led approaches."

The CEO continued: "The backing of these leading investors, who have a deep understanding of drug discovery, is a strong validation of our revolutionary technology. The funding will enable us to establish a team in the U.S. – a natural next step to continue strengthening our relationships with large pharmaceutical and biotech companies on both the East and West coasts. It will also help us to greatly widen the capabilities of our QaiM engine."

A partner at Heran Partners and new member of Pharmacelera's Board of Directors said: "By combining physics-based algorithms with machine learning, Pharmacelera enables the design of molecular candidates for novel targets and modes of action with a higher probability of success. We have a high conviction in this company, which was reinforced through direct discussions with its customers, including leading pharmaceutical companies, who have already experienced the significant impact of its technology."

Pharmacelera has already participated in more than 100 projects to date, including several notable successes in GPCRs. It has won repeat business from customers in both Europe and the U.S., including three big pharma companies and numerous highly-regarded biotechs. The firm said its has already demonstrated its scalability and commercial viability, with repeat business from pharmaceutical companies and biotechs in Europe and the US.

The CEO noted that investors were able to hear directly from current users of the technology, who shared how the platform is supporting their drug discovery efforts and enhancing their intellectual property. "These conversations reinforced investor confidence in the transformative potential of our technology," he said.

The funding round follows the signing of a strategic alliance between Pharmacelera and Silicon Valley company igniter General Inception (GI) in 2023, in which Pharmacelera became GI's AI drug discovery strategic partner. A Chief Scientific Officer at GI sits on Pharmacelera's Board of Directors. Since then, Pharmacelera's technology has strengthened the intellectual property of several of GI's portfolio companies.

The CEO stated: "The integration of physics-based simulations (e.g., quantum mechanics) with AI is an increasingly important frontier in drug discovery. Each discovery program presents unique biological and chemical complexities, making off-the-shelf AI approaches insufficient. Instead, specialized models that combine first-principles simulations with advanced machine learning are required to address these challenges effectively and to leverage accurately the exponentially growing available chemical space."

Pharmacelera is a deep tech computational drug discovery company applying its advanced 3D Quantum Mechanics and Artificial Intelligence ("QaiM") engine to explore the vast chemical "exaspace" – which potentially comprises trillions of molecules – with unprecedented speed, efficiency and accuracy. This engine can significantly outperform traditional methods in its ability to identify structurally diverse, novel, and synthesizable compounds. Founded by AI engineers, drug hunters from industry and top academic profiles, its founders have co-authored more than 500 publications and hold more than 50 patents on technology and drug discovery.