Somite raises $5.3 million to incorporate AI in stem cell therapy
Somite raises $5.3 million to incorporate AI in stem cell therapy
The team of five scientists includes Micha Breakstone, an Israeli AI entrepreneur who sold Chorus.ai for $575 million
Somite, a company hoping to become ‘the OpenAI of stem cell biology’, has announced that it has raised $5.3 million in pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Israeli VC TechAviv, and joined by Austin-based VCs Next Coast Ventures, Trust Ventures and Texas Venture Partners as well as NY-based Lerer Hippeau and others.
Cell therapy involves replacing missing, damaged, or diseased cells, and while there have been advances in stem cell research that opened new avenues for producing various human cell types, challenges still persist in terms of efficiency, scalability, and robustness across existing protocols. Somite is developing the production of cells derived from somites, critical embryonic structures giving rise to musculoskeletal cells. These include muscle, brown adipose, cartilage, bone, tendon, and dermis.
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(L to R): Allon Klein, Cliff Tabin, Olivier Pourquie, Jonathan Rosenfeld, Micha Breakstone
(Somite)
"The future of medicine lies at the intersection of AI and biology," said Micha Breakstone, CEO and Co-Founder of Somite. "With Somite's AlphaStem platform we have the unique opportunity to both unlock the governing principles of cell differentiation and introduce therapies to cure tens of millions of people. This funding round is only one of many first steps in our exciting journey."
The founding team consists of CEO Breakstone, who co-founded and sold Chrous.AI for $575 million, alongside CTO Dr. Jonathan Rosenfeld and Boston-based scientists Dr. Olivier Pourquie, Dr. Allon Klein, and Dr. Cliff Tabin. Each member brings expertise in developmental biology, stem cells, and computational biology.
Somite is developing a digital twin of the embryo - a computational model mirroring real embryo development - and using artificial intelligence to uncover protocols, identify regulators of cell differentiation, and conduct prompt optimization cycles.
"We are proud to partner with Somite and have high conviction in the exceptional team and transformative solution for stem cell therapy," added Yaron Samid, Founder and Managing Partner at TechAviv. "I am captivated by Somite's potential to redefine the boundaries of medical innovation. They are committed to advancing their groundbreaking stem cell therapy technology and have the power to transform the lives of millions of people by leveraging AI to produce human tissue for cell therapies."
Somite was founded in October 2023 and has already gained acceptance to the Blavatnik Harvard Life Labs and secured intellectual property for patents. Its therapies have the potential to cure a myriad of diseases that involve the loss or deficiency of cell populations, such as Diabetes, Obesity, and Muscular Dystrophies.
