Antiverse Raises $9.3M Series A to Target Undruggable Diseases via AI Antibody Design

Antiverse, a Welsh technology-focused biotech company, announced the close of its $9.3 million Series A financing round today. Led by Soulmates Ventures, the funding brings the total capital raised by the startup to over $20 million since its inception. This investment will fuel the expansion of its proprietary AI platform, which designs therapeutic antibodies for the most challenging biological targets in medicine, including G-protein coupled receptors and ion channels. Alongside the funding news, Antiverse revealed a significant research agreement with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. The collaboration focuses on designing novel antibodies for the extracellular region of the CFTR protein, a target long considered notoriously difficult by conventional discovery methods. Successful development in this area could provide essential tools for advancing new therapeutic approaches for patients with this progressive genetic disease.

The company technology utilizes a lab-in-the-loop workflow that effectively combines generative machine learning with in-house laboratory validation. By training models on complex membrane proteins for seven years, the platform can identify functional antibody candidates in under four months. This rapid iteration allows the team to optimize humanness and binding specificity far faster than traditional discovery cycles allow.

Looking ahead, Antiverse plans to progress its first wholly owned candidates into late-stage preclinical development by 2027. The company currently maintains partnerships with multiple top-20 global pharmaceutical firms to address severe diseases characterized by dysregulated signaling. With offices now in Cardiff, Boston, and Prague, the team is positioned to scale its operations and validate its AI-designed molecules through upcoming in vivo efficacy studies.

Soulmates Ventures managing partner Michal Sikyta praised the team ability to reduce development timelines for de novo therapeutic antibodies. He noted that the combination of AI design and internal labs positions Antiverse as a future leader in tackling the most elusive disease targets. The financing round also saw participation from Innovation Investment Capital, DOMiNO Ventures, and existing investors including the i&i Biotech Fund.