April 25, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] SoftBank Ventures Korea, the venture capital arm of the Japanese tech giant, said on March 20 that it has led a US$10 million Series A funding in US biopharmaceutical startup twoXAR.

US-based VCs Andreessen Horowitz and OS Fund also participated in the latest round. In tandem, SoftBank Ventures Korea Partner and Managing Director JP Lee, Partner Andreessen Horowitz and Managing Director Vijay Pande have joined the firm’s board of directors.

 

TwoXar's founders Andrew M. Radin and Andrew A. Radin.

“SoftBank Ventures invests (in firms) to accelerate the information revolution and is increasingly interested in the application of artificial intelligence in health care,” said Lee. “TwoXAR is a clear leader in the rapidly growing AI-based drug discovery market and we are proud to lead this new financing round and support its commitment to expanding treatment options for rare and common diseases.”

Established in 2014 by Andrew A. Radin and Andrew M. Radin, the Palo Alto-based startup uses an AI platform to identify new drugs at reduced cost and time, across therapeutic areas including diseases such as liver cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and type 2 diabetes. The firm claims it can identify drug candidates for testing “in weeks rather than years.”

“The application of AI in drug discovery has shifted from speculative to practical, and will be a major driver of drug development efficiencies in the biopharmaceutical industry,” said Andrew A. Radin. “We are pleased to be aligned with SoftBank Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz and OS Fund who are leaders in investing in AI applications in biology and bring operational and business development expertise in twoXAR as we continue to build our pipeline of drug programs.”

Previously in 2015, twoXAR raised US$4.3 million in seed fund from Andreessen Horowitz, CLI Ventures and the Stanford StartX Fund.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)