ByteDance spins out AI drug discovery unit Anew Labs in $290M round at $1.5B valuation
创业邦 · wechat · 2026-09-17
ByteDance's AI drug discovery unit Anew Labs has closed a $290M independent first round at a $1.5B valuation, with ByteDance retaining a controlling 56% stake.
- Investors: HSG (ex-Sequoia China), IDG Capital and Hillhouse led; 5Y Capital co-led, with Sino Biopharmaceutical and Shanghai Future Industry Fund as strategic backers.
- The team (50 people) was formed in 2021 under Liu Kai; the business was fully spun out in June 2026 with its core team, algorithms and pipeline assets.
- Public platform spans five modules: AnewFold (structure prediction), AnewSampling (molecular dynamics), AnewOmni (molecular modeling), AnewDesign (antibody design), AnewMind (scientific reasoning LLM for drug R&D decisions); disclosed targets include IL-17 and IL-4R.
- Like Isomorphic Labs, it takes an end-to-end "develop its own drugs" path — while Isomorphic raised a record $2.1B Series B but has yet to move any AI-designed molecule into trials, now targeted for end-2026.
- Alternative "tool partnership" models: NVIDIA-Lilly's joint AI lab (up to $1B over five years) and OpenAI-Novartis' full-chain AI deployment.
Related event: ByteDance Spins Off AI Drug Discovery Unit Anew Labs with $290M Raise(3 posts)→
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