"AI Drug Discovery Startup Unveils Innovations After Stealth Phase, Secures $1 Billion in Funding"

Xaira Therapeutics, an innovative startup, has emerged with over $1 billion in funding aimed at revolutionizing drug discovery through the power of artificial intelligence. Based in San Francisco, this pioneering company leverages a unique blend of machine learning and advanced data generation techniques to accelerate both the drug discovery and development processes.

Xaira’s cutting-edge AI platform is designed to identify protein and antibody designs, as well as methods to pinpoint biological targets for treating various diseases. The substantial investment that fueled its inception came from prominent investors, including Arch Venture Partners and Foresite Capital, joined by notable firms such as Sequoia Capital, Menlo Ventures, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Additionally, Byers Capital, SV Angel, and the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy have also backed this ambitious venture.

At the helm of Xaira is Marc Tessier-Lavigne, former chief scientific officer of Genentech, whose leadership is expected to steer the company toward groundbreaking advancements. Tessier-Lavigne, who faced controversy in his previous role as president of Stanford University, was recently exonerated by an independent panel regarding allegations of research misconduct. He expressed his enthusiasm for the potential of AI in transforming the pharmaceutical landscape: “In my previous roles, I witnessed an earlier generation of technologies fundamentally change drug discovery, delivering new medicines that alleviate the burden of disease for many patients. Now, witnessing how AI is impacting other industries and the considerable progress in applications of AI in biology, I believe we are poised for a revolution.”

Xaira was co-founded by Tessier-Lavigne in collaboration with David Baker, a biochemistry professor at the University of Washington and director of the Institute for Protein Design. The founding team also includes Hetu Kamisetty, formerly of Meta, and Genentech veterans Arvind Rajpal and Don Kirkpatrick. The startup has its roots in the biotechnology powerhouse Illumina, which provided essential staff from its genomics research divisions, and has also recruited talent from Interline Therapeutics’ proteomics research group.

The company’s board features industry heavyweights from both government and the pharmaceutical sector, including former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb, former Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky, and Carolyn Bertozzi, the 2022 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry. “Xaira is in a strong position to both advance fundamental AI research and translate these advances into transformative new medicines and I am excited to have the opportunity to lead the team,” said Tessier-Lavigne.

With its billion-dollar launch, Xaira joins the ranks of influential AI-driven drug discovery companies, including the UK-based Exscientia, China’s Insilico Medicine, and BenevolentAI, setting the stage for major innovations in the pharmaceutical industry. The potential for AI to streamline and enhance the drug discovery process marks a significant advancement in the quest for effective treatments, with Xaira at the forefront of this transformative journey.