MindRank AI Secures Tens of Millions in Angel Funding to Advance Integrated AI Drug Discovery Platform

Recently, Hangzhou-based startup MindRank AI, specializing in AI-driven drug discovery, announced the completion of a ¥45 million angel round financing led by Sherpa Medical Fund. The proceeds from this round will be used for team expansion, business development, and drug pipeline development.

The MindRank team and its technology originated in London, UK, the global epicenter of AI drug discovery. Among the top 10 international AI pharmaceutical companies, three are based in London, and the MindRank team includes members from these firms. As early as 2018, the team had already commenced technological R&D, refining and validating the capabilities of its proprietary AI drug discovery platform. In November 2020, the team returned to China and established MindRank in Hangzhou, aiming to bring mature, one-stop AI drug R&D technologies and development models to China, and to rapidly initiate commercial partnerships and pipeline development for the platform.

The company’s team comprises seasoned medicinal chemists, molecular biologists, and AI drug discovery experts. Team members have successfully identified 16 targets and spearheaded multiple drug pipelines into clinical trials, with some already approved for market. Core AI members have ranked in the top 10 in multiple global AI competitions and won championships in world genetic engineering competitions. “Since initiating our R&D efforts in 2018, we have focused on the most upstream needs in drug discovery, starting with novel and undruggable targets. As China’s innovative drug development prepares to compete on the global stage, we hope to collaborate with more domestic and international partners to pioneer new therapies and accelerate the realization of our blueprint for AI-driven drug discovery.”

MindRank features a one-stop AI-driven drug discovery platform, comprising the pharmaceutical knowledge graph PharmKG™ and the drug design platform Molecule Pro™. Within months of its establishment, the company has already established commercial partnerships with multiple listed pharmaceutical companies and gained industry recognition. Founder Niu Zhangming stated, "Over the past three years, we have completed technical validation and published multiple papers in top-tier international academic journals. Currently, MindRank's focus is on pipeline development and business expansion, and our technology has already been recognized by numerous domestic and international pharmaceutical companies and institutions." It is reported that a paper published earlier this year by AstraZeneca's computational chemistry team noted that PharmKG™ is one of the top five knowledge graphs globally best suited for drug R&D.

Dr. Daqing Cai, Founding Managing Partner of Sherpa Capital, stated, "In this dynamic and rapidly evolving new sector, we are optimistic about the MindRank team's consistently original AI technology, their solid understanding of biology and medicinal chemistry, and their reverent approach to applying AI in drug discovery. This field is not merely about model innovation; it requires the team to possess exceptional patience, creativity, and execution capability. We believe the MindRank team can unearth the hidden treasures beneath the iceberg of AI-driven drug discovery and achieve remarkable success in innovative therapies."

It is reported that MindRank’s AI-driven drug discovery solutions were recognized by the authoritative European and American institution Deep Pharma Intelligence as one of the "Top 11 Most Important AI Drug R&D Breakthroughs Globally (2018–2020)." Sharing this honor with companies such as DeepMind, Exscientia, and Recursion Pharmaceuticals, this accolade serves as a global validation of the company’s core AI technological capabilities. Furthermore, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, MindRank’s solution ranked joint first to be selected for the multi-million-euro EU Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) program, becoming the sole AI technology provider among all chosen proposals. Spearheaded by the European Union, the initiative aims to rapidly identify effective solutions for COVID-19. The evaluation panel comprised representatives from the EU alongside numerous top-10 global pharmaceutical companies affiliated with the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA).