Deep Mind spin out Isomorphic Labs secures USD 2.1b Series B to scale AI drug design engine

A USD 2.1 billion Series B round positions London-based Isomorphic Labs as one of the most heavily capitalized AI-native drug design companies in the world, [underscoring the scale of institutional conviction](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/isomorphic-labs-secures-2-1-billion-funding-to-scale-its-ai-drug-design-engine-302769674.html) in applying large-scale artificial intelligence to pharmaceutical development. Thrive Capital led the round, which included participation from existing backers Alphabet and GV, alongside new investors MGX, Temasek, CapitalG, and the UK Sovereign AI Fund. Thrive Capital also led the company's Series A, a USD 600 million round closed in March 2025, marking a continuation of the same lead investor across both external financing events. Isomorphic Labs said it will use the capital to continue development and deployment of its AI drug design engine, known as IsoDDE, to accelerate and expand its pipeline of therapeutic programs toward the clinic, and to support hiring across AI, engineering, drug design, and clinical functions at its sites in London, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Lausanne. ## Platform science and the IsoDDE engine Isomorphic Labs was founded in 2021 as a spinout from DeepMind, [Alphabet](https://app.allsci.com/organization/ASC-OH-0000000000399-1.0-1764853177)'s AI research division, with the explicit aim of applying AI-driven structural biology to drug discovery. The company's scientific foundation is rooted in the AlphaFold research program, which demonstrated that deep learning models could predict protein three-dimensional structure from amino acid sequence alone with near-experimental accuracy. IsoDDE extends that capability into a unified drug design system. Where AlphaFold addressed protein structure prediction, IsoDDE integrates protein-ligand interaction modeling, binding affinity prediction, and binding pocket identification into a single computational platform. The company has described the platform's predictive accuracy on out-of-distribution biological systems — targets with low similarity to training data — as exceeding that of AlphaFold 3 on established benchmarks. It has also reported that IsoDDE independently identified a previously unknown cryptic allosteric pocket on the protein cereblon, a finding that experimentalists reportedly reached only after an extended period of study. The underlying scientific logic, as articulated by the company, is that accurate simulation of molecular interactions is a prerequisite for effective generative molecule design. IsoDDE is intended to satisfy that prerequisite across multiple therapeutic areas and drug modalities, enabling the company to move from target identification through candidate generation to lead optimization within a computational environment before committing to wet-lab synthesis. ## Pipeline and pharma partnerships Isomorphic Labs maintains both wholly owned internal therapeutic programs and a portfolio of partnered programs with major pharmaceutical companies. The company has not publicly disclosed named drug candidates or specific indications for its internal pipeline, and no Isomorphic Labs-sponsored clinical trial records were identified in available registries at the time of publication. The company has said its internal programs have reached key milestones and yielded viable candidates, and the Series B proceeds are intended in part to advance these programs toward clinical entry. On the partnered side, the company has established collaborations with[ Novartis, Eli Lilly](https://www.isomorphiclabs.com/articles/isomorphic-labs-kicks-off-2024-with-two-pharmaceutical-collaborations), and[ Johnson & Johnson](https://www.isomorphiclabs.com/articles/isomorphic-labs-enters-into-a-research-collaboration-with-johnson-johnson). The Lilly collaboration, announced in January 2024, carried an upfront payment of USD 45 million and potential milestone value of up to USD 1.7 billion. The initial Novartis agreement, announced simultaneously, included an upfront payment of USD 37.5 million and was subsequently expanded in February 2025 following reported progress under the original terms. A collaboration with Johnson & Johnson, structured as a cross-modality, multi-target research program, was announced in January 2026, with Isomorphic Labs responsible for computational predictions and design and J\&J conducting experimental assays and downstream development. ## Leadership and organizational context Isomorphic Labs is led by Sir [Demis Hassabis](https://app.allsci.com/researcher/ASC-PR-0000089569330-1.0-1722658127), who serves as founder and CEO, and Max Jaderberg, who serves as president. Hassabis co-founded DeepMind in 2010 and led the organization through the development of AlphaFold, receiving the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2024 alongside DeepMind colleague John Jumper and University of Washington researcher David Baker for contributions to protein structure prediction. Jaderberg joined from a background in AI research and has overseen the operational scaling of the company's drug design engine. The Series B brings Isomorphic Labs' total external capital raised to approximately USD 2.7 billion across two rounds, both led by Thrive Capital. Combined with the potential milestone value embedded in its three major pharma partnerships, the company has assembled a substantial financial base relative to its stage of pipeline disclosure. The participation of the UK Sovereign AI Fund alongside international institutional investors including Singapore's Temasek and Abu Dhabi-based MGX reflects both the geographic breadth of interest in AI-driven pharmaceutical development and the UK government's stated interest in anchoring AI infrastructure investment domestically. *** This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed and edited by the AllSci editorial team Explore more at AllSci News: [https://allsci.com/news/](https://allsci.com/news/) --- Spot something wrong? 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