ReviR Therapeutics Secures Tens of Millions in Pre-A Funding to Advance AI-Driven RNA-Targeted Drug Discovery

VCBeat (WeChat: vcbeat) learned第一时间 that on January 17, AI+RNA startup ReviR Therapeutics (ReviR Therapeutics, hereinafter referred to as ReviR) announced the completion of Pre-A round financing supported by Shunwei Capital, Cloud9 Capital, and TIANTU CAPITAL. The existing shareholders, Morningside Ventures and CDH VGC, also significantly re-invested following the angel round funding in May 2021. The total financing amount reached tens of millions of US dollars.

It is reported that this round of funding will be used to continue the evaluation and validation of ReviR's voyageR™ AI technology platform. By combining machine learning with advanced RNA biology R&D technology, ReviR will further accelerate the screening and development of its candidate compounds, laying the foundation for extensive clinical application layouts.

ReviR Therapeutics, Inc. was founded in May 2021 and is committed to driving the development of RNA-targeted drugs through artificial intelligence algorithms and gene technology, addressing unmet clinical needs in oncology, infectious diseases, and rare diseases.

In recent years, small molecule drug discovery technologies targeting RNA have garnered significant attention from pharmaceutical companies due to their unique advantages and broad prospects in researching "undruggable" targets. Compared to proteins, RNA is more easily digitized thanks to the development of high-throughput nucleic acid sequencing technology, which has progressed even faster than Moore's Law.

ReviR and its core technology team focus on the computation of RNA spatial structures, using algorithms and large-scale sequencing to analyze RNA structures. They develop small-molecule drugs that bind to "pockets" in RNA structures—namely, their active sites—to block mechanisms such as splicing and translation, achieving therapeutic effects and making breakthroughs in targeting "undruggable" targets at the protein level.

Dr. Yang Li, Co-founder and Chairman of ReviR TherapeuticsSaid: "In recent years, there have been rapid breakthroughs in AI, RNA biology, and high-throughput drug screening technologies. ReviR has gathered top talents from these three fields to develop innovative drugs for unmet clinical needs. In less than a year since its establishment, the teams in Silicon Valley and Shenzhen have grown rapidly. We are very grateful to our investors for their confidence in the AI + RNA direction and their recognition of the team."

Managing Director of Morningside Ventures, Jing XutianSaid: "With the integration of sequencing technology and information technology, the search for new targets and the discovery of new drugs are, to a certain extent, becoming mathematical and physical problems that can be engineered. Combined with the assistance of high-throughput experimental tools, it is expected to break away from the past paradigm that required extensive and long-term basic life science research. RNA targets represent a vast, untapped treasure trove, and today we have just acquired systematic tools to decode and apply them. We believe that ReviR's team experience and technical capabilities can make outstanding contributions to new drug development in this blue ocean opportunity."

Dr. Dan Liu, Partner of CDH VGCStated: "We have long been optimistic about underlying technological innovation and its applications. AI computing platforms represented by ReviR have taken a global lead in small-molecule RNA-targeted drugs. The digital development of biologic innovative drugs not only helps to break through existing industry challenges but also promotes comprehensive transformation across the entire biopharmaceutical field, opening up entirely new approaches such as RNA drug design. The ReviR team has deep expertise in the intersection of RNA and AI and will become a leader in China’s emerging field of AI-designed small-molecule RNA targeting."

Vice President of Shunwei Capital, Wu WentaoStated: "Shunwei Capital has long been focused on the opportunities brought to the medical industry by the integration and innovation of digital technology and pharmaceutical technology."

AI Technology, as a rapidly emerging efficiency-enhancing tool in recent years, has been preliminarily proven to shorten the drug development cycle and improve the quality of drug research and development; RNA-targeted drug technology, after years of technical accumulation and industrial practice, has demonstrated significant development potential and clinical value.

We are optimistic about the enormous potential of AI-driven RNA-targeted drug development. The ReviR team possesses deep industry-academia-research backgrounds and unique insights in drug discovery and AI technology, having built an algorithm + wet lab platform capable of efficient iterative interaction and rapid generation of high-quality data. This platform boasts a high technical barrier and exceptional drug discovery efficiency. We are thrilled to support ReviR's rapid growth and look forward to its AI-driven RNA-targeted drug discovery platform bringing more differentiated innovative drugs to the medical market with significant unmet clinical needs, benefiting patients in China and globally as soon as possible.

Ronnie Cao, Founding Partner of Cloud Nine Capital"We believe that the empowerment of AI technology in the scientific research field is an innovative topic that Yunji Capital has long focused on. Theoretically, drug development targeting RNA has broader potential than drug development at the protein level, which can bring about a qualitative change in drug discovery, thereby offering new solutions for cancer and rare disease treatments. However, correspondingly, research at the RNA level also presents greater challenges, and the integration of AI applications can help establish efficient screening and new drug discovery technology platforms. Dr. Yue Peng and Dr. Li Yang's team has extensive experience in pharmaceuticals and bioinformatics. We look forward to ReviR building core technical barriers under their leadership as soon as possible and advancing more achievements that benefit patients."

Wei Guoxing, Partner of TIANTU CAPITALExpressed: "We are delighted to participate in ReviR's current round of financing. We highly value the deep application of AI in the innovative drug field, and are pleased to see ReviR taking an unconventional approach, breaking new ground in drug target selection. We firmly believe that ReviR will become a leading enterprise in China for the research and development of small molecule drugs targeting RNA, and TIANTU CAPITAL will continue to support the company in advancing its subsequent platform construction and pipeline layout."

ReviR Therapeutics (ReviR Therapeutics, Inc.) is an innovative drug discovery company driven by artificial intelligence algorithms and genetic technology, focusing on RNA spatial structure computation. It has developed the voyageR™ AI platform to create small-molecule drugs targeting RNA, addressing unmet clinical needs in oncology, infectious diseases, and rare diseases. Founded in 2021 in Silicon Valley and Shenzhen, ReviR's core team hails from multinational pharmaceutical companies and world-renowned medical research centers, with nearly 20 years of experience in drug discovery, computational chemistry, and computational biology at Genentech, Gilead, AbbVie, 23andMe, and Invitae.

Morningside Ventures currently manages dual-currency funds in both USD and RMB with a scale of approximately 32 billion RMB. Morningside Ventures seeks, supports, and motivates solitary entrepreneurs, providing them with support ranging from spiritual encouragement to all aspects of business operations. We believe that if the world starts to believe in what others see as your madness, it will open up new horizons.

Investment enterprises include Ctrip (NASDAQ:CTRP), HYY Group (NASDAQ:YY), Xiaomi Group (HK:01810), Kingsoft Office (STAR:688111), Agora (NASDAQ:API), XPeng (NYSE:XPEV), Kuaishou (HKEX:1024), WeDoctor Group, SenseTime, Horizon, Pony.ai, and so on.

CDH Investments, founded in 2002, is one of the most influential alternative asset management institutions in China, currently managing over 170 billion yuan in assets. CDH VGC is a fund under CDH Investments that focuses on innovative and growth-stage investments, primarily covering four major investment areas: healthcare, ToC consumption, ToB enterprise services, and technological innovation. The core philosophy of CDH Investments is to walk alongside strivers and create long-term value. Over the past decade, CDH has been accompanying numerous outstanding enterprises in fields such as biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, medical services, and internet healthcare. CDH firmly believes that allocating resources to excellent medical companies will undoubtedly drive progress within the industry and society.

Shunwei Capital, founded by Mr. Lei Jun and Mr. Xu Dalai in 2011, currently manages dual-currency funds in both US dollars and RMB with a scale exceeding 5 billion US dollars. The investors mainly come from top global investment institutions such as sovereign funds, family funds, fund of funds, and university foundations.

Shunwei Capital focuses on mobile internet, Internet+, smart hardware, smart manufacturing, deep technology, consumer goods, enterprise services, the electric vehicle ecosystem, and other fields. Representative investment projects in China and abroad include: Xiaomi Group, Segway-Ninebot, Agora, iQIYI, NIO, ShareChat, Meesho, and more than 400 other outstanding companies. We hope to make our lives better by investing in early to growth-stage companies with dreams.

Sky9 Capital is a leading venture capital fund that focuses on innovative themes in the fields of consumer goods, internet, deep technology, enterprise services, and healthcare. The Sky9 Capital team consists of seasoned technology experts, successful entrepreneurs, and investors. From 2011 to present, the team has managed multiple US dollar and RMB funds with nearly 2 billion US dollars in assets under management.

TIANTU CAPITAL was founded in 2002 and is one of the earliest professional institutions engaged in equity investment in China. It has offices in Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, with a professional investment team of over 50 people. The VC team of TIANTU CAPITAL was established in 2016. Currently, it manages three VC funds, one angel fund, and one US dollar fund, with a total managed scale exceeding 4 billion yuan. After five years of practice, it has formed a relatively mature investment decision-making system and invested in more than 100 early-stage projects.