Anew Labs, an artificial intelligence drug-discovery business spun out of ByteDance, has raised $290 million in its first external funding round at a valuation of about $1.5 billion.
The financing was backed by investors including HSG, formerly Sequoia China, IDG Capital, GL Ventures and 5Y Capital. Other participants included Gaorong Ventures, Primavera Venture Partners, Boyu Capital, SBP Group and the state-backed Shanghai Future Industries Fund.
ByteDance retains a 56 percent stake in Anew Labs following the fundraising, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the transaction.
AI drug discovery platform
Anew Labs is headquartered in Shanghai and also has offices in Singapore and San Francisco. The company develops AI systems for biomolecular structure prediction, molecular design, antibody design and scientific reasoning for drug discovery.
Its platform includes AnewFold for protein and molecular-complex structure prediction, AnewSampling for molecular dynamics, AnewDesign for antibody design and optimization, and AnewMind, a scientific reasoning large language model focused on drug-discovery decisions.
The company’s disclosed pipeline includes programs targeting IL17 and IL4R, along with two undisclosed targets. Anew Labs says it combines AI models with experimental science and drug-development expertise as it advances potential medicines through discovery and preclinical development.
The fundraising reflects continued investor interest in the use of AI to shorten parts of the drug-discovery process. Singapore has also been building capabilities in this area. TNGlobal previously reported on XtalPi’s collaboration with Singapore’s Experimental Drug Development Centre to apply AI and automation to drug discovery.
ByteDance’s decision to separate the business gives Anew Labs a standalone structure for raising capital and pursuing partnerships in the pharmaceutical sector, while ByteDance remains its controlling shareholder.
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