Antiverse Secures $9.3M Series A to Advance AI-Powered Antibody Discovery Platform
核心洞察
Cardiff-based Antiverse (搜索) closed a $9.3 million Series A round led by Soulmates Ventures (搜索) to scale its AI-driven therapeutic antibody discovery platform.
The company's machine learning platform targets challenging proteins like G-protein coupled receptors (搜索) and ion channels (搜索) that have historically resisted traditional biologic approaches.
Funding will support platform expansion, advancement of internal therapeutic programs across oncology (搜索) and immunology (搜索), and growth of collaborative partnerships with pharmaceutical companies.
Cardiff-based biotechnology company Antiverse (搜索) has secured $9.3 million in Series A funding to expand its artificial intelligence-powered therapeutic antibody discovery platform and advance lead programs toward in vivo studies. The round was led by Soulmates Ventures (搜索) with participation from Innovation Investment Capital (搜索), DOMiNO Ventures (搜索), and existing investors including DBW, Kadmos Capital and & Biotech Fund.
AI-Driven Approach to Complex Targets
Antiverse (搜索) applies machine learning and advanced computational design to early-stage biologic drug discovery, specifically focusing on therapeutic antibodies. The platform models antibody-antigen interactions and generates candidate sequences tailored to challenging targets such as G-protein coupled receptors (搜索) and ion channels (搜索)—protein families that have conventionally proven difficult to address with traditional laboratory-based discovery methods.
"Innovation Investment Capital (搜索)'s backing is a powerful endorsement of both our technology and our roots in Cardiff," said Murat Tunaboylu, Antiverse (搜索)'s Co-Founder and CEO. "This investment not only enables us to scale our platform, grow our team and deepen partnerships with pharma and biotech leaders worldwide, but also positions Antiverse strongly for our next phase of growth."
The company's computational designs undergo laboratory validation to assess binding, specificity and therapeutic potential before progressing toward preclinical development. Target customers include pharmaceutical and biotech companies seeking to accelerate early discovery phases, particularly for molecular targets that have historically resisted biologic modulation.
Platform Applications and Market Position
Antiverse (搜索)'s platform currently supports programs across oncology (搜索), immunology (搜索) and infectious diseases (搜索), positioning the company at the forefront of next-generation therapeutics. By dramatically reducing the time and cost of traditional discovery methods, the platform enables pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners to bring treatments to patients faster and more efficiently.
The Series A represents Antiverse (搜索)'s first institutional growth round beyond earlier seed investments. Prior funding rounds, including seed equity and smaller venture financings, brought total capital raised to more than $20 million. The new capital is designated for scaling the AI platform, advancing internal therapeutic programs, and expanding collaborative discovery offerings with pharmaceutical partners.
Strategic Investment and Regional Impact
Innovation Investment Capital (搜索) Limited Partnership, the Cardiff Capital Region (搜索)-backed fund, and the Development Bank of Wales (搜索) participated in the round alongside international investors. This marks the third investment in Antiverse (搜索) by the Development Bank since it first provided early-stage seed capital in 2020.
"Antiverse (搜索) represents a compelling life sciences opportunity with the potential to build a business of genuine global scale," said Rhian Elston, Wales Investment Director for the Development Bank of Wales (搜索). "By combining deep biological expertise with advanced AI-led design in a proprietary platform, the company is redefining how antibody therapeutics are developed."
The funding strengthens Wales's position as a center of excellence for applied life sciences innovation and supports commercialization of the existing platform while accelerating new intellectual property development. The investment creates five new jobs and safeguards 19 highly skilled positions in Wales.
Industry Context and Future Outlook
AI-augmented drug discovery has transitioned from niche experimentation toward mainstream R&D, with multiple startups and established laboratories integrating machine learning to accelerate target identification and lead optimization. The focus on antibodies for historically intractable targets like GPCRs reflects persistent inefficiencies in conventional discovery that AI promises to address.
Lynda Stoelker, Capricorn Fund Managers (搜索)' COO and Chair of the IIC Investment Committee, noted: "Antiverse (搜索) is building a category-defining platform in drug discovery. The strength of the team, the sophistication of the technology and the scale of the opportunity make this a compelling investment for IIC."
Headquartered in Cardiff's Social Science Research Park, Antiverse (搜索) now faces the challenge of translating computational promise into demonstrable therapeutic candidates that meet the rigors of preclinical testing and regulatory benchmarking. The company's ability to attract and retain partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotech firms will shape how broadly its platform is adopted in the competitive AI-driven drug discovery landscape.