Toronto-based Deep Genomics has raised $16 million CAD in funding led by Khosla Ventures, according to a report from The Globe and Mail.
Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield and entrepreneur Michael Hyatt also invested in the company.
Deep Genomics’ platform uses deep learning-based technology to help geneticists, molecular biologists, and chemists develop therapies. The company developed a software system called Saturn, which it will use to search across 69 billion molecules to identify 1,000 synthesized compounds that can be used to manipulate the makeup of cells.
“Because of the quality of their science and engineering team and the deep integration of their AI technology into their preclinical drug development pipeline, we are confident that a very large potential exists here to discover new therapies,” Khosla Ventures’ Vinod Khosla, a co-founder of Sun Microsystems, told The Globe.
The company plans to use the funding to double its 20-person team. “We are aiming to flip medicine on its back and do something completely different,” said Deep Genomics founder Brendan Frey, who studied at U of T under machine learning pioneer Geoffrey Hinton.
In November 2015, Deep Genomics raised $5 million led by True Ventures.
Photo via University of Toronto