Novo has backed automated molecule and material discovery business Kebotix, co-founded by former Harvard University professor Alán Aspuru-Guzik.
Kebotix, a US-based automated chemicals development spinout of Harvard University, secured $11.4m yesterday as part of a series A round led by pharmaceutical firm Novo.
The company did not reveal a target size but noted that the round would remain open to additional investors for a month.
Founded in 2017, Kebotix is developing new molecules and materials using an artificial intelligence-powered lab, expediting medical and industrial projects for both private and public sector clients.
During work for US government-funded research body National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Kebotix says it reduced molecular experiment times from 49 to nine hours.
The series A funding is expected to bolster its R&D and operational capacity, helping to generate chemical and material-based assets for objectives such as supplanting hazardous substances.
Kebotix’s co-founders include Alán Aspuru-Guzik, a former professor at Harvard’s Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology who has since moved to University of Toronto.
Aspuru-Guzik was also involved with Harvard quantum computing spinout Zapata Computing.
One Way Ventures led Kebotix’s $5m seed round in 2018, investing alongside Baidu Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of internet group Baidu, Flybridge Capital Partners, Embark Ventures, Propagator Ventures and WorldQuant Ventures.
