Bioptimus Secures $35 Million Seed Funding to Create AI-Powered Foundational Model for Biological Research

A new generative AI startup, Bioptimus, has emerged in Paris with a compelling mission: to harness cutting-edge AI advancements specifically for the field of biology. What distinguishes Bioptimus is its commitment to navigating the unique challenges posed by sensitive clinical data, which is often not publicly available, unlike the more accessible data sources leveraged by general AI models.

As with many AI ventures, Bioptimus will require significant capital to train its models using high-performance GPUs and recruit top-tier researchers. To support its ambitious goals, the startup is securing $35 million in a seed funding round led by Sofinnova Partners, with participation from notable investors including Bpifrance’s Large Venture fund, Frst, Cathay Innovation, Headline, Hummingbird, NJF Capital, Owkin, Top Harvest Capital, and Xavier Niel.

Bioptimus is not starting from scratch; it is backed by experienced leaders in the field. Jean-Philippe Vert, co-founder and executive chairman of Bioptimus, also serves as the Chief R&D Officer at Owkin—a French biotech unicorn dedicated to advancing drug discovery and diagnostics through AI. Additionally, CTO Rodolphe Jenatton brings substantial AI expertise as a former senior research scientist at Google, while several co-founders are alumni of Google DeepMind.

Owkin's extensive collaborations with top biopharmaceutical firms have led to the accumulation of multimodal patient data from leading academic hospitals globally. This invaluable dataset will be leveraged by Bioptimus to develop its foundational AI model.

The creation of Bioptimus can be viewed as a strategic spin-off from Owkin, designed to address specific challenges in developing foundational models. “Building foundational models focused on biology isn’t part of Owkin’s roadmap; however, we’re excited to support and collaborate with Bioptimus,” Vert explained. “Training large-scale foundational models requires immense resources—both in data volume and computing power—which are more manageable for a dedicated entity like Bioptimus.”

Additionally, Bioptimus has forged a partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), indicating that its model will be developed within Amazon's robust data centers. With strong funding secured, Bioptimus is positioned to advance its AI initiatives and support biotech research.

“Our AI solutions aim to enhance disease diagnosis, refine precision medicine, and facilitate the creation of innovative biomolecules for medical and environmental applications,” Vert stated.