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§ Private Profile · Montreal, QC, Canada
Valence Discovery is a technology company.
Valence Discovery provides an artificial intelligence platform to accelerate drug discovery, utilizing algorithms optimized for low-data environments. An AI-first methodology designs new chemistry against challenging biological targets, powered by a generative chemistry engine. Pioneering few-shot learning, it overcomes data limitations in machine learning for drug design.
Founded in 2018, Valence Discovery was established by Daniel Cohen, Prudencio Tossou, and Therence Bois. Their shared academic insight propelled the application of advanced machine learning to pharmaceutical research. Cohen, as CEO, collaborated with Tossou, a machine learning PhD, and Bois, an AI and deep learning specialist, to address complex drug design.
Valence Discovery's platform assists drug discovery scientists and pharmaceutical firms, enhancing preclinical efforts through AI-driven insights. Its vision aimed to equip these scientists with advanced AI tools for drug design, aspiring to build the world's most capable chemistry engine. This democratized access to computational innovation for developing novel small molecules.
Valence Discovery has raised $9.0M across 2 funding rounds.
Valence Discovery has raised $9.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Valence Discovery has raised $9.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
Valence Discovery's investors include Air Street Capital, Fifty Years, Acrew Capital, AirAngels, Amplify Partners, Downing Ventures, Kearny Jackson, NextView Ventures, Parkwalk Advisors, Preston-Werner Ventures, Silicon Valley Connect, Adam Lisagor.
Valence Discovery is an AI-driven drug discovery company that builds a machine learning platform for molecular design and optimization, enabling drug discovery teams to leverage deep learning for faster, cheaper, and more innovative therapeutic development.[1][2][3][4] Formerly known as InVivo AI, it serves pharmaceutical companies, contract research organizations like Charles River Labs, and academic labs by addressing challenges in sparse biomedical datasets to design high-quality drug candidates optimized for potency, selectivity, safety, and DMPK parameters.[3][4] The platform democratizes AI access, powering growth through partnerships like Servier and infrastructure on Google Cloud, which has reduced costs and accelerated R&D.[3][4]
Valence Discovery originated as a PhD biotech project at Mila, the world's largest deep learning research institute in Montreal, where the founding team developed deep learning tools for drug discovery during their studies.[2][3][4] Founded in 2018 by CEO and Co-Founder Daniel Cohen, the company rebranded from InVivo AI and is now a Recursion company, evolving from academic research to a commercial platform.[1][4] Early traction came from building AI tools adapted for incomplete biomedical data, leading to scalable deployment on Google Cloud and partnerships that shifted focus to empowering diverse R&D organizations.[3]
Valence rides the wave of AI democratization in drug discovery, where deep learning tackles historically undruggable targets amid rising computational power and data generation advances.[3][4][5] Timing aligns with industry shifts toward AI-optimized candidates, with CEO Daniel Cohen predicting that by 2030, most clinical drugs will involve AI input, fueled by market forces like high R&D costs and the need for novel therapies.[4] It influences the ecosystem by partnering across scales—from academics to big pharma like Servier—accelerating access to advanced tools and fostering virtual cell models for simulating patient responses.[3][4][5]
Valence is poised to expand as a Recursion-powered engine, advancing virtual cells and models like TxPert for out-of-distribution predictions in biology.[5] Trends in agentic AI systems, quantum mechanics datasets, and scalable cloud compute will shape its path, potentially dominating AI-driven small molecule design.[5][6] Its influence may evolve from tool provider to ecosystem leader, enabling broader shifts to AI-native drug pipelines and unlocking unprecedented therapeutic spaces—reinforcing its mission to empower every drug team from day one.[1][4]
Valence Discovery has raised $9.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $7.0M Seed in December 2021.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 1, 2021 | $7M Seed | AIR Street Capital, Fifty Years | Acrew Capital, AirAngels, Amplify Partners, Downing Ventures, Kearny Jackson, NextView Ventures, Parkwalk Advisors, Preston Werner Ventures, Silicon Valley Connect, Adam Lisagor, Andrew Berman, Chris Schaepe, Jonathan Milner, Amplitude Ventures, Phoenix Venture Partners | Announced |
| Apr 1, 2019 | $2M Seed | — | BoxOne Ventures | Announced |