Converge Bio, a Boston- and Tel Aviv-based startup, raised $25 million in a Series A round. Bessemer Venture Partners led the round. TLV Partners, Vintage Investment Partners, and executives from Meta, OpenAI, and Wiz also joined. The company uses AI to help pharma and biotech companies develop drugs faster.
The funding comes a year and a half after Converge raised $5.5 million. Since then, the company has grown from nine employees to 34. It has signed 40 partnerships and is running about 40 programs in North America, Europe, Israel, and is now expanding into Asia.
How the Technology Works
Converge trains AI models on DNA, RNA, and protein sequences and plugs them directly into drug development workflows. The company has three main AI tools. One is for designing antibodies. Another is for improving protein production. The third is for finding biomarkers and targets.
“Our antibody tool has three steps,” CEO Dov Gertz said. “The AI generates antibodies. Then other models check them. Finally, a docking system tests how they interact with targets. Customers get a complete system that fits directly into their work.”
The platform has already produced results. In one example, a partner increased protein yield by four to 4.5 times in a single test. In another, the AI generated antibodies with very high binding strength.
Market Opportunity and Momentum
AI in drug discovery is growing fast. Last year, Eli Lilly and Nvidia built a supercomputer for drug research. The team behind AlphaFold won the 2024 Nobel Prize for predicting protein structures. Converge says the industry is moving from trial-and-error methods to data-driven drug design.
Gertz added, “A year and a half ago, people were skeptical. Now, case studies show AI can speed up development.”
Challenges
AI is not perfect. Large language models can make mistakes, and checking new molecules can take weeks. Converge reduces risk by using predictive models along with generative ones. Text-based AI is used only to help customers navigate research papers. It is not part of the core scientific models.
Bottom Line
Converge Bio is growing fast in a booming market. Its funding, technology, and partnerships put it in a strong position to help drug companies move faster. Investors should watch how the company scales and continues to deliver results.
