BenchSci raises $63M in Series C Funding

BenchSci, a Toronto-based artificial intelligence (“AI”) drug discovery startup, recently announced that it has raised $63M in Series C Funding to expedite the reach of its technology worldwide. This round was led by Inovia Capital and TCV, and brings BenchSci’s total funding to date to $123 million. 

Founded in 2015, BenchSci uses machine learning to target inefficiencies and unnecessary spending in preclinical research, in order to help both scientists and pharmaceutical companies expedite drug discovery. BenchSci’s AI software combs through biomedical data and scientific research at the level of a Ph.D scientist, recognizing patterns which in turn helps making experimentation more efficient by eliminating trial-and-error experiments that delay progress and drain research budgets.

Currently, their technology is used by 4,500 research institutions and 49,000 scientists around the world.  BenchSci’s clients also include 16 of the world’s top 20 pharmaceutical companies, including Eli Lilly and Moderna.

“Historically, no one has invested in technology and software tools for scientists, who we see as heroes,” said BenchSci CEO, Liran Belenzon. “It’s very absurd to think that a salesperson has more software tools to augment their work than a scientist that is working on solving the hardest problems known to most people,” Belenzon lamented. “So we are fixing that.”