Somite.ai takes pre-seed to $10M as it eyes to become ‘the OpenAI of stem cell biology’
Somite.ai takes pre-seed to $10M as it eyes to become ‘the OpenAI of stem cell biology’
The company has received an extension of $4.8 million just six months after its initial raise for its novel cell replacement therapies.
Somite.ai, a TechBio company leveraging big data and AI for its novel cell replacement therapies, has announced it has received a $4.8 million extension of its initial pre-seed round, bringing its total funding to $10 million. The funding was completed only six months after its initial fundraising and sees Astellas Venture Management and Montage Ventures joining as Board Observers.
"With most of the funds still in the bank, we were not planning to fundraise until 2025," said Dr. Micha Breakstone, Co-founder and CEO of Somite.ai. "However, when Astellas Venture Management and Montage Ventures approached us, it was clear that they could add significant strategic value. Astellas Pharma and Astellas Institute for Regenerative Medicine focus on regenerative medicine and cell therapy research in ophthalmology and other therapeutic areas that have few or no available treatment options, while Montage Ventures has built a robust thesis and has deep insights into this space, so we decided to extend the round."
The additional funding will be used for data generation to train the company’s AI platform, AlphaStem; advance SMT-M01 toward the clinic; start a second clinical program, SMT-B01, using brown adipocytes to treat metabolic disorders; and begin research with hypoimmune cell lines.
"Somite.ai's work in vertically integrated AI-driven cell therapy aligns perfectly with Astellas' focus. We see great potential for impactful synergies between our companies," said Dr. Nagisa Sakurai, Senior Investment Manager at Astellas Venture Management, who will be joining Somite.ai as a Board Observer. Dr. Daphne Che, who will also be joining Somite.ai as a Board Observer, added: "Among numerous companies in the TechBio space, Somite.ai stood out as the most aligned with our vision of AI-driven novel therapeutic modalities.”
Additional investors joining the round include former Chairman and CEO of Luminex Nachum Shamir, as well as Paul and Dr. Kendra Harris, a clinician with experience in clinical trials, who will also be joining Somite.ai's Scientific Advisory Board.
Somite.ai was founded by Breakstone and Jonathan Rosenfeld, PhD, who serves as CTO. It aims to become ‘the OpenAI of stem cell biology’ by developing AI foundation models to produce human tissue for cell therapies at scale for diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and muscular dystrophies. It was incorporated in October 2023.
Additional Scientific co-founders include Dr. Olivier Pourquie, Professor of Genetics and Pathology at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital; Dr. Allon Klein, Professor of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School; Dr. Cliff Tabin, Chair of the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School; and Dr. Jay Shendure, HHMI Professor of Genome Sciences at University of Washington.
