Isomorphic Labs
Category: AI in Biotech / Drug Discovery
AI-first drug design and development company spun out of Google DeepMind, using frontier AI to reimagine drug discovery Isomorphic Labs was founded in 2021. The company is led by Sir Demis Hassabis. Based in London, United Kingdom. Team size: 201-500. Total funding raised: $2.7B. Latest round: Series B. Key investors include Thrive Capital, GV (Google Ventures), Alphabet Inc., MGX, Temasek, CapitalG, UK Sovereign AI Fund.
AMW Analysis
Isomorphic Labs is an AI-first drug design and discovery company spun out of Google DeepMind, applying frontier AI to reimagine drug development. Its unified AI drug design engine (IsoDDE) predicts protein structures and binding affinities and identifies novel drug targets, aiming to accelerate discovery from years to digital speed. Founded in 2021 and based in London, the company has raised a total of $2.7 billion, with its latest Series B round led by Thrive Capital. Recent news shows Isomorphic Labs closed a $2.1 billion funding round in May 2026, described as the largest AI drug-discovery round to date, following an initial $600 million financing. The round was led by Thrive Capital, with participation from GV, Alphabet, MGX, Temasek, CapitalG, and the UK Sovereign AI Fund. The company applies AlphaFold-derived models to accelerate small-molecule drug design and target identification. This funding trajectory signals sustained investor conviction in its platform, building on its DeepMind heritage and positioning it as a major capital-intensive player in AI-driven biotech.
AMW analysis, generated from 2 tracked news signals.
- Founded
- 2021
- Headquarters
- London, United Kingdom
- Team size
- 201-500
- Total funding
- $2.7B
Value proposition
Isomorphic Labs builds a unified AI drug design engine (IsoDDE) that predicts protein structures, binding affinities, and identifies novel drug targets with unprecedented accuracy, accelerating drug discovery from years to digital speed
Products and solutions
Isomorphic Labs Drug Design Engine (IsoDDE) — unified computational drug-design system; AlphaFold 3 (co-developed with Google DeepMind); Internal drug candidate pipeline focused on oncology and immunology; Dataverse (curated life science data infrastructure)
Unique value
Only AI drug discovery company with direct lineage to Nobel Prize-winning AlphaFold technology; unified multi-modality drug design engine that works across small molecules, biologics, and antibodies; backed by Alphabet/Google DeepMind with access to vast compute and talent
Target customer
Large pharmaceutical companies (Novartis, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson); internal pipeline for oncology and immunology therapeutics
Industries served
Pharmaceutical drug discovery; Biotechnology; Oncology; Immunology; Therapeutics development
Technology advantage
IsoDDE more than doubles AlphaFold 3 accuracy on protein-ligand structure prediction; predicts binding affinities exceeding gold-standard physics-based methods at fraction of time/cost; identifies novel binding pockets from amino acid sequence alone; built on DeepMind's AlphaFold heritage with interdisciplinary team of ML researchers and drug discovery experts
How they differentiate
Direct lineage from Nobel Prize-winning AlphaFold technology; backed by Alphabet/Google DeepMind with unmatched compute resources; unified multi-modality drug design engine (small molecules, biologics, antibodies); interdisciplinary team combining world-class ML researchers with drug discovery experts; $3B+ in pharma partnership deal value before any clinical data
Main competitors
Recursion Pharmaceuticals; Insilico Medicine; Xaira Therapeutics; insitro; Schrödinger; Exscientia; Valo Health; Atomwise
Key partnerships
Novartis (strategic research collaboration, expanded Feb 2025, up to $1.2B in milestones); Eli Lilly (strategic research collaboration, up to $1.7B in milestones); Johnson & Johnson (multi-target cross-modality research collaboration, announced Feb 2025); Google DeepMind (parent/sister company, co-development of AlphaFold 3)
Notable customers
Novartis; Eli Lilly and Company; Johnson & Johnson
Major milestones
2021: Founded as Alphabet/DeepMind spinout; 2022: Opened Lausanne, Switzerland office; 2024: Partnered with Novartis & Eli Lilly ($3B combined deal value); 2024: Co-released AlphaFold 3; 2024: Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to Demis Hassabis & John Jumper for AlphaFold; 2025: Raised $600M Series A (first external funding) led by Thrive Capital; 2025: Expanded Novartis partnership; 2025: Partnered with Johnson & Johnson; 2026: Launched IsoDDE Drug Design Engine; 2026: Raised $2.1B Series B led by Thrive Capital with MGX, Temasek, CapitalG, UK Sovereign AI Fund; 2026: First clinical trials expected by year-end
Growth metrics
Team grew from ~100 (2024) to ~340+ (2026); First clinical trials expected by end of 2026; Drug Design Engine (IsoDDE) launched Feb 2026; 3 major pharma partnerships signed (Novartis, Lilly, J&J)
Market positioning
Premium-tier AI drug discovery platform with strongest academic pedigree (Nobel Prize), largest compute infrastructure, and highest-value pharma partnerships. Positioned as the most ambitious AI-first drug discovery company with mission to "solve all disease"
Geographic focus
Global (HQ in London, UK; office in Lausanne, Switzerland; partnerships with global pharma companies)
Patents and IP
AlphaFold 3 (co-developed with Google DeepMind, released May 2024); Isomorphic Labs Drug Design Engine (IsoDDE, announced Feb 2026); Proprietary dataverse infrastructure; Multiple undisclosed patents related to AI drug design models
About Sir Demis Hassabis
Co-Founder & CEO of Google DeepMind (acquired by Google/Alphabet); Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2024 (AlphaFold); PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience from UCL; Founder of Elixir Studios; Former AI researcher at UCL Gatsby Unit; Chess master at age 13
Latest news about Isomorphic Labs
More AI in Biotech / Drug Discovery companies
Official website: https://www.isomorphiclabs.com
