DeepLife raises US$10m in Series A financing

Paris-based start-up DeepLife SAS plans to use the proceeds to develop AI-powered models of human cells, known as digital twins of cells, for drug discovery. The DeepLife team relies on a software as a service platform that combines deep learning algorithms on multi-omics sequencing data, public and private cell atlases and proprietary deep learning-based cell engineering tools. The company’s goal is to complement in vitro assays with in silico simulations and quickly discover molecular triggers to efficiently alter cell behaviour. The 30 experts led by Jonathan Baptista and Jean-Baptiste Morlot, who co-founded the company in 2019, have recently enabled the creation of databases with millions of quantitative cell activity measurements covering multiple diseases.

DeepLife aims to increase productivity in drug discovery. The company uses virtual models of human cells to simulate the effects of drugs at the molecular level for each cell type in the human body. By integrating single-cell multi-omics data, systems biology and generative AI modelling, DeepLife says it has gained the trust of major pharmaceutical companies and promises unprecedented speed and accuracy in testing unexplored drug combinations, particularly for diseases previously considered untreatable.

The Series A funding will enable DeepLife to expand the potential of its ‘Digital Twins of Cell’ platform and validate initial applications in autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases – a market estimated to be worth over US$120bn in total.