Terray Therapeutics Files for IPO: AI-Powered Drug Discovery Platform EMMI Validated by BMS Milestone and Backed by NVIDIA

In the automated laboratory of AI drug discovery company Terray Therapeutics, located in Monrovia, California, robotic arms hum quietly as they precisely transfer microliter-scale liquids to workstations. Scientists, dressed in lab coats and wearing sterile gloves and safety goggles, monitor the operation of each piece of equipment.

But the real "stage" is on the nanoscale: in millions of micropores on custom silicon chips, small molecule compounds meet and bind with target proteins in solution, and every interaction is recorded, generating about 50TB of raw data daily (equivalent to the data volume of more than 12,000 movies).

In the field of AI-driven drug discovery, technical pathways are clearly diverging. While some companies focus on general computational models (such as protein structure prediction), phenotypic imaging, or physical modeling, Terray Therapeutics has chosen a different path: instead of optimizing algorithms first, theyFirst, construct an unprecedented high-quality, large-scale chemical dataset.。

For this company, AI is not a shortcut to replace experiments, but an engine ignited by real data.

Unlike the computing-centric model, Terray's technological philosophy is rooted in a simple premise:AIThe upper limit is determined by the quality and scale of the experimental data."Even the most powerful AI cannot overcome the issues of insufficient or ambiguous data," said Jacob Berlin, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of Terray Therapeutics, in the company's announcement of a $60 million Series A financing in February 2022.

Terray Therapeutics, Inc. through its proprietary, integratedUltra-high DensityMicroarray Technology, High-Throughput Experiments and Machine LearningThe drug discovery engine forms a closed-loop iterative system of alternating computation (tCompute) and experimentation (tArray): computation guides experimentation, and experimentation feeds back into computation, in a continuous cycle until high-quality clinical candidate molecules are output.

The entire process is divided into three phases:

tCompute first designs a diverse chemical library containing millions of structures based on the target protein. These virtual molecules are then screened through tArray using ultra-high-density microarray technology — capable of testing tens of millions of compound molecules within minutes. Combined with microscale robotic resynthesis and biochemical and cellular assays, the system rapidly identifies lead compounds with initial activity.

Input the seed compound data into the machine learning model, tCompute rapidly and iteratively designs highly optimized focused libraries. tArray then performs ultra-high-density microarray screening again, identifying more promising lead compound molecules through larger-scale solution-phase molecular libraries, automated synthesis, and supplementary biological assays.

At this point, tCompute initiates a constrained generative AI model, which, under biological/pharmacological constraints, optimizes molecular structures. Subsequently, tArray synthesizes complex molecules through both machine and manual methods, followed by comprehensive biological testing, ultimately delivering high-quality clinical candidate molecules.

EMMI: When Experiments Meet Machine Intelligence:

On November 17, 2025, Terray Therapeutics officially named its integrated drug discovery platform.EMMI（Experimentation Meets Machine Intelligence）. This renaming signifies not only a brand upgrade but also a systematic confirmation of its technological closed-loop: it integrates high-throughput experimental capabilities to rapidly generate large-scale, high-precision proprietary data in the "chemical dark matter regions" of chemical space that are data-sparse and unexplored, while being equipped with a full-stack AI system. Scientists efficiently complete molecular design, evaluation, and selection through its "human-in-the-loop" mechanism. As the foundational platform matures, Terray Therapeutics is further incorporating deeper AI reasoning capabilities, continuously strengthening the tight integration between AI-driven design and experimentation, steadily advancing toward a true closed-loop drug discovery system.

Relying on self-developed novelUltra-High Density MicroarrayTechnology, Terray's platform has completed over130100 million timesHigh-Precision Target-Small Molecule Interaction Measurement——This is currentlyThe World's Largest Small Molecule Binding Database, and withNew additions each quarter10100 Million Recordsat a rapid pace. These proprietary data not only cover a wide range, but also possess high signal-to-noise ratio and iterability, providing an irreplaceable foundation for the AI model training and molecular decision-making of the EMMI platform.

Terray Therapeutics originated from an academic project at the City of Hope Cancer Center in the United States, led by co-founder and CEO Jacob Berlin, Ph.D., more than 10 years ago. Jacob Berlin, who holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Caltech, has long been engaged in research on nanotechnology and chemistry. His brother, Eli Berlin, is the co-founder and CFO/COO of the company. Having previously worked in private equity, Eli joined the startup to establish Terray’s operational systems and lead multiple financing initiatives.

This combination of scientists and operators enables Terray to not only push the boundaries of technology but also efficiently connect capital from the technology, finance, and biopharmaceutical industries.

On February 15, 2022, Terray Therapeutics$60 Million Series A Financing Officially Launched, which previously completed an undisclosed $20 million seed funding round, bringing the total early-stage financing to8000Million USD. Series A financing was led byMadrona Venture GroupLed by, with participation from multiple institutions including Two Sigma Ventures, Digitalis Ventures, Goldcrest Capital, XTX Ventures, Sahsen Ventures, Greentrail Capital, and Alexandria Venture Investments.

On November 9, 2023, Terray Therapeutics announcedNVIDIAVenture Capital DepartmentNVenturesEquity Investment, and has partnered with NVIDIA to train foundational models for the chemical field, utilizing Terray Therapeutics' large-scale experimental data to support generative AI-designed optimization of small-molecule therapies. This investment has also garnered support from both new and existing institutional investors, including John Maraganore, the founding CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, and Bassil Dahiyat, the founder and CEO of Xencor.

According to the cooperation agreement, Terray will use NVIDIA DGX™ Cloud to develop the world's most comprehensive foundational models for small-molecule chemistry. Some of these models will be deployed on the NVIDIA BioNeMo™ cloud service platform for generative AI drug discovery. By leveraging NVIDIA’s AI software stack and full-stack computing technologies, Terray can optimize and scale the development of its foundational models, advance the creation of robust ligand and structure-based models using proprietary experimental datasets, and further accelerate its clinical research and development.

On October 17, 2024, Terray Therapeutics announced the completionOversubscribed1.2Billion USDBRound of Financing, bringing its total equity financing to over2Billion US dollars. This round of financing was led by new investorsBedford Ridge Capital and existing investor NVentures (a venture capital arm under NVIDIA)Co-led the investment, with other participants including Maverick Capital, Goldcrest Capital, Madrona Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures, XTX Ventures, Digitalis Ventures, and Alexandria Ventures, among others. Investor Sid Shenai has joined the Terray Therapeutics board of directors.

This round of financing will be used to advance multiple small-molecule immunology disease programs within the company into clinical trials, and further expand itsIntegrated AI Drug Discovery Platform tNova——This platform simultaneously supports Terray's proprietary pipeline and joint projects with partners such as Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) and Calico.

Note: The "tNova”ForTerrayThe early name of the platform, has been2025Year11Officially unified inEMMI。

Since the Series A financing in 2022, the company has successively announced several collaborations:

October 12, 2022, Terray Therapeutics, Inc.Calico Life Sciences(Calico, a biotechnology company founded by Alphabet and Arthur D. Levinson that focuses on aging-related diseases, announced a multi-target collaboration aimed at leveraging Terray Therapeutics' tNova drug discovery platform to develop)Novel Small Molecule Therapies for Aging-Related Diseases (Including Cancer)According to the agreement, Calico nominates disease targets, and Terray Therapeutics utilizes its high-throughput microarray technology and generative AI-driven tNova platform for hit compound screening and optimization; subsequent development and commercialization will be fully managed by Calico. Terray Therapeutics will receive upfront payments, R&D and sales milestone payments, as well as tiered royalties based on global net sales.

December 14, 2023, Terray Therapeutics announced withBristol-Myers Squibb (BMS）Reach a multi-target collaboration aimed at utilizing Terray's tNova drug discovery platform to develop against targets designated by BMS.Novel Small Molecule TherapyAccording to the agreement, Terray is responsible for early discovery and compound optimization, while BMS takes full responsibility for subsequent development and global commercialization after obtaining the candidate molecule. Terray will receive an upfront payment, milestone payments based on preclinical, clinical, and sales achievements, as well as tiered royalties on net product sales.2025Year12Month3Day, the two parties announced the reaching of the firstDrugDiscovery Milestone。

October 28, 2024Odyssey TherapeuticsTerray Therapeutics Announces Strategic Collaboration to Jointly DevelopFor Transcription Factor Targetsfirst-in-classSmall Molecule Therapy, for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. The collaboration combines Odyssey's expertise in immunology and transcription factor biology (including functional transcription factor reconstruction and structural biology knowledge) with Terray Therapeutics' AI-driven drug discovery capabilities based on its tNova platform. Under the agreement, the parties will identify one or more preclinical candidate drugs targeting specific targets, and subsequent research, development, and commercialization will follow a jointly developed plan.Shared ResponsibilityResponsibility and Cost, and EqualityShareProfit and Loss. (Further reading:Inflammation + Immune: In Just Three Years, This Biotech Will Go Public on Nasdaq）

December 17, 2024Gilead SciencesAnnounced a multi-target research collaboration with Terray Therapeutics to leverage Terray's tNova drug discovery platform for development.Novel Small Molecule TherapyTerray will conduct early discovery work on targets selected by Gilead, while Gilead holds exclusive rights to develop and commercialize the resulting compounds. Under the agreement, Terray will receive an upfront payment, potential milestone payments based on R&D and sales milestones, as well as tiered royalties on future net sales of the products.

At the same time, the company is also advancingIn-house Pipeline, focusing on the field of oral small molecule drugs, concentrating onImmunityInflammatory Diseases(Including systemic lupus erythematosus, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis). According to media reports, the company is expected to advance the candidate drug into clinical trials by early 2026.

Despite Terray Therapeutics having built a drug discovery engine centered around the EMMI platform, attracted cross-sector capital investment, and established partnerships with multiple pharmaceutical companies, the real test is just beginning.

Can AI-generated molecules demonstrate the expected efficacy and safety in real-world studies? Can their oral small molecule pipeline successfully pass early clinical trials and exhibit true therapeutic value in subsequent stages? These questions cannot be answered by data scale or algorithmic sophistication alone but must withstand the test of the human body—a complex system. The 50TB of laboratory data, 13 billion measurements, and the stunning outputs of generative models ultimately converge on a simple endpoint: whether patients benefit. For AI-driven drug discovery companies like Terray Therapeutics, the journey from drug discovery to patient benefit remains an uncertain expedition, and clinical trials are always the unavoidable ultimate proving ground.

PharmCube has previously reported on and systematically reviewed multiple companies in the AI drug discovery field. For details, see:

References:

PharmaCircle Data;

Mox Entropy Pharma Data pharma.bc

pmdata.com (formerly Yaorong Cloud Data);

https://www.terraytx.com/insights/introducing-emmi-where-experimentation-meets-machine-intelligence；

https://www.terraytx.com/press/terray-therapeutics-achieves-ai-enabled-drug-discovery-milestone-in-collaboration-with-bristol-myers-squibb；

https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-news/2024/06/24/from-data-to-drugs-how-ai-is-revolutionising-drug-development；

Other relevant public information (images in the text are from the official company, unless otherwise noted).

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