Glasgow’s Chemify raises €43M to digitise molecule creation using AI

Scottish firm Chemify, a deep-tech company fusing chemistry, robotics, and AI computation, has raised funding in an oversubscribed Series B round.

Glasgow-based Chemify, a deep-tech company blending chemistry, robotics, and computation, has raised over $50M (approximately €43M) in an over-subscribed Series B funding round.

The round was co-led by Wing Venture Capital and Insight Partners, with contributions from a syndicate of investors, including 8VC and existing supporters such as Triatomic Capital, Blueyard, Rockspring, and Eos.

Wing Venture Capital partners with ambitious founders to help businesses transform with an AI-first approach. They lead Seed and Series A financing rounds and actively contribute their expertise and resources in building companies.

Ansuman Satpathy, a Partner at Wing Venture Capital, comments, “Chemify’s technology uses automation and physical AI to enable the digitisation of chemistry, transforming chemical synthesis from an art to a programmable science. We are excited to support the team’s progress as they empower scientists to create novel molecules with unmatched efficiency and precision. Their work has the potential to drive significant advancements in drug discovery and medicine.”

Insight Partners is a global software investor partnering with high-growth technology, software, and Internet startup and ScaleUp companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. 

Aiden Aceves, Vice President at Insight Partners, remarks, “Lee is an iconoclast with the wind at his back. Chemify’s use of AI to ensure the makeability of complex molecules is a paradigm shift for how medicinal chemistry is done today, and the company’s vision is matched by the strong results seen across their early pharma collaborations.”

Fund utilisation

The Series B financing allows Chemify to expand globally by creating digital chemistry hubs.

These hubs will provide on-demand molecule design and manufacturing for partners in pharmaceutical, biotech, and materials science.

The Scottish company plans to open a Silicon Valley facility led by Chief Technical Officer Mike Bell.

This growth will improve Chemify’s ability to create and produce molecules quickly.

The company aims to lead in developing important medicines and innovative materials while establishing a new standard for how small molecules are made.

As a part of the funding round, both Ansuman Satpathy of Wing Venture Capital and Aiden Aceves of Insight Partners have joined Chemify’s Board of Directors.

Chemify: Digitising chemistry and chemical discovery

Founded in 2022 as a spin-out from the University of Glasgow by Lee Cronin, Chemify is changing how new molecules for medicines and materials are discovered and made.

The company uses a process called Chemputation, which combines robotics and AI to turn digital code into physical compounds.

The funding announcement comes four months after the launch of its first Chemifarm, a fully automated chemistry facility designed to be the world’s most advanced laboratory for molecular design and synthesis.

The Chemify facility in Glasgow’s Maryhill district spans 21,500 sq ft and combines an AI-based molecular design engine with robotic synthesis. 

This setup speeds up the development of small-molecule medicines and new materials for various challenges.

Central to the operation is the Chemputation platform, which includes a custom programming language, adaptable robotics, and a large library of validated chemical reactions. 

This platform allows for the design, optimisation, and scaling of complex molecules.

The facility features dedicated production suites, R&D labs, engineering and fabrication zones and a secure cloud architecture capable of storing petabytes of high-resolution chemical data for AI-powered analysis. 

It will also prototype next-generation Chemifarm hardware destined for future global sites.

“Chemify aims to become the global digital backbone of chemistry, enabling fast design and discovery,” says Lee Cronin, CEO and Founder, Chemify.

“Our vision is that Chemify will be able to design and make any molecule on demand for our customers across all of chemistry, from drug discovery to new catalysts and electronic materials. The next step in our evolution is nothing short of a revolution in the digitisation and automation of chemical discovery and manufacturing,” adds Cronin.