Cofounded by Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee and Reid Hoffman, Manas AI leverages proprietary AI, generative computational chemistry, and best in class biology to cut drug development timelines and costs, transforming cancer and rare disease treatments.
Company raises $24.6 million seed round, co-led by General Catalyst and Reid Hoffman with participation from Greylock, and establishes partnership with Microsoft.
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK / ACCESS Newswire / January 27, 2025 / Manas AI, a full-stack, AI-driven company focused on discovering and advancing next generation medicines, launched today. By leveraging its proprietary AI-driven platform, its partnership with Microsoft, and a world-class team of scientists across diverse disciplines, Manas AI is uniquely positioned to disrupt the traditional model of therapeutic discovery. The company aims to significantly accelerate the process of screening, identifying, and advancing transformative medicines for cancer, autoimmune disease, and rare conditions - including some previously considered unreachable.
Co-founded by Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, a pioneering oncologist, researcher, and author, and Reid Hoffman, renowned entrepreneur and investor, Manas AI integrates generative computational chemistry, advanced molecular docking, and cutting-edge biology to create a full-stack therapeutic development pipeline - from target identification to clinical trials. Manas will use Microsoft's cloud computing platform, Microsoft Azure, as well as Microsoft's deep domain knowledge in AI to develop novel medicines.
"Our mission is simple yet profound: to transform how we discover and develop life-saving medicines. Through the power of AI and our world-class team, we believe we can drastically reduce the time and cost it takes to bring game-changing new treatments to patients. I am particularly excited about the novel models for generative chemistry that Manas is developing. If these generative models work, we aspire to replace conventional experimental methods to create medicines," said Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, co-founder of Manas AI.
Disrupting Medical Discovery with AI and Compute Power
Manas AI's proprietary approach builds on several distinctive foundations:
Proprietary AI Filters and Libraries: Manas AI generates bespoke chemical libraries and utilizes advanced AI filters to identify high-potential therapeutic candidates with paradigm-shifting speed and accuracy.
Massive Scale Compute: Through the Microsoft collaboration, Manas AI will build on top of the Azure cloud computing infrastructure, enabling molecular docking at speeds 100x faster than traditional systems.
Project Cosmos: The company's ambitious AI-driven initiative aims to map the fundamental "rules" of drug binding, further accelerating the discovery of novel chemical entities.
"Amidst all the hype in AI-powered drug discovery today, Manas AI is poised to make truly practical, game-changing advances," said Peter Lee from Microsoft. "It's especially exciting to integrate world-class AI capabilities with groundbreaking chemistry, biology, and wet-lab expertise as we aim to re-shape the future of medicine. Microsoft is proud to partner with Manas to help realize this critically important mission."
A Global Vision for Impact
With an initial focus on oncology, Manas AI is developing treatments for aggressive cancers such as triple-negative breast cancer, prostate cancer, and lymphoma. Eventually, the company also intends to target other important global diseases
A World-Class Team Leading a New Era of Medical Discovery
Manas AI has brought together a world-class, interdisciplinary team of leaders in the discovery of novel medicines - spanning AI, computational chemistry, biology, and clinical research. The team includes five members of the National Academy of Sciences, four members of the National Academy of Medicine, and two recipients of the Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences. The Manas team features an unprecedented assembly of globally significant, influential contributors to scientific and medical innovation, including:
Dr. Lew Cantley (Harvard University), discoverer of PI3K and PTEN, scientific founder of Agios Pharma
Dr. Gary Gilliland (Fred Hutch), former Global Oncology Franchise Head, Merck & Co., groundbreaking researcher on the genetic underpinnings of cancer
Dr. William Jorgensen (Yale University), world leading innovator in computational chemistry whose contributions have transformed molecular simulation and drug design
Dr. Peter Kim (Stanford University), pioneering biochemist and former President of Merck Research Laboratories, where he oversaw approval of over 20 new medicines
Dr. Craig Mello (UMass Chan Medical School) co-discoverer of RNA interference and 2006 Nobel Laureate in Medicine, scientific co-founder of CRISPR tx, Atalanta tx and several others RNA focused biotechnology companies.
Dr. Matthew Shair (Harvard University), world leading organic chemist, small molecule therapeutics expert and scientific founder of Nuvalent
Dr. David Spiegel (Yale University), chemical biologist renowned for his contributions in antibody-recruiting molecules and synthetic antibody mimics for therapeutic applications
"Our interdisciplinary team is uniquely equipped to tackle the most complex challenges in drug discovery," said Dr. Mukherjee. "By combining expertise in AI and biology with best-in-class preclinical models, we can accelerate the process of discovering life-saving medicines that were once out of reach."
Backed by Leading Investors
Manas AI has raised $24.6 million in funding to accelerate its groundbreaking AI-driven drug discovery programs. The company's financing was led by General Catalyst with participation from Greylock and other strategic investors in life sciences and technology. The capital will be used to scale its proprietary AI platform, advance its pipeline of drug candidates, and expand its global clinical programs.
"As a former CEO in the biopharma industry, I'm very familiar with the challenges of the highly complex and resource-intensive therapeutic discovery model", said Ken Frazier, chairman, health assurance initiatives, General Catalyst, and former chairman and CEO of Merck. "Manas AI has the potential to compress the timeline to discovery of effective drug candidates while increasing the likelihood of success in clinical trials. This is a unique opportunity to dramatically change the drug discovery landscape and make a positive impact on billions of people around the world."
"AI will have a lasting and positive impact on humanity, and for years I have been focused on helping realize the potential of this technology. It's my honor to partner with Sid to build a company focused on using AI to transform drug discovery," said Reid Hoffman, co-founder and investor in Manas. "Manas AI is breaking down barriers that have slowed medical innovation for decades, which will lead to exponential positive impact in our ability to treat human disease."
About Manas AI
Manas AI is a full-stack, AI-driven drug discovery company. By harnessing the power of proprietary AI models and leveraging extensive computational infrastructure, the company aims to dramatically reduce drug discovery timelines. Co-founded by Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee and Reid Hoffman, and a world-class interdisciplinary team that spans AI, computational chemistry, biology, and clinical research, Manas AI is on a mission to bring life-saving treatments to patients faster than ever before. Visit manasai.co for more information.
Contact Information
Tamar Harel
tamar@tellny.com
SOURCE: Manas AI
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