PARIS & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 10, 2024--
AQEMIA, a pioneering techbio that teaches atomic scale physics to a generative AI to invent innovative medicines, announces two major milestones: $100 million in cumulative funding and the beginning of a global expansion starting with London (United Kingdom).
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The new $38 million funding round, led by new investor Cathay Innovation, brings total funds raised since inception to over $100 million. This round, coming less than a year after the previous one, follows the successful validation of AQEMIA’s drug discovery platform through outstanding results in internal preclinical programs and pharmaceutical partnerships, particularly in oncology. The funding will support AQEMIA’s development goals, including preparations for clinical trials.
“This is a transformative moment for AQEMIA,” said Maximilien Levesque, PhD, CEO and co-founder of AQEMIA. “Less than a year after our last round, this successful fundraising and the opening of our new London office mark significant strides toward our ambition to accelerate the discovery of new medicines on a global scale. Partnering with Cathay Innovation brings international expertise, particularly in the US and Asia, reinforcing our vision and mission. With this momentum, we are poised to advance to clinical trials, bringing us closer to delivering life-changing treatments to patients in need.”
This new round is led by Cathay Innovation, followed by historical investors Wendel, Bpifrance Large Venture, Eurazeo, and Elaia.
“We have long been committed to supporting visionary entrepreneurs who harness the transformative potential of AI to reshape the healthcare industry,” supports Jacky Abitbol, partner at Cathay Innovation. “AQEMIA embodies the future of drug discovery, combining the power of AI with quantum mechanics. Fueled by Maximilien and Emmanuelle, the company’s vision is one that is fully aligned with Cathay Innovation’s DNA, as it aims to profoundly transform the molecule research and pharmaceutical industry as a whole. Our partnership goes beyond capital support; we are putting to good use our experience in scaling AI-driven companies all over the world, particularly across US and Asia, as AQEMIA accelerates its path to the clinic and expands its global impact.”
In addition to reaching the $100 million funding milestone, AQEMIA announces the opening of its London office, scheduled for January 2025 in the King’s Cross area. This expansion strengthens AQEMIA’s presence in the UK’s dynamic tech and biotech sectors. The new location will provide access to the UK’s rich talent pool, especially in life sciences and techbio, as the company continues its global recruitment efforts across all levels.
AQEMIA will also use the proceeds to continue to advance its technology platform—teaching quantum-inspired, atomic-scale physics to generative AI—to transform drug discovery, designing innovative and safe small-molecule drugs with high efficiency. By teaching theoretical physics to the generative AI, AQEMIA does not need experimental data to train on, unlocking truly innovative molecular designs, further away from existing molecules—a key challenge for genAI today. The drug discovery platform is now proven to work, as demonstrated by AQEMIA’s recent preclinical successes: (i) in their most advanced oncology programs with in vivo results, which continue to progress toward clinical trials, and (ii) through AQEMIA’s $140 million collaboration with Sanofi, announced in December 2023, which already underscored the platform's potential and strong industry recognition.
About AQEMIA
AQEMIA is a next-gen Techbio company building one of the world's fastest-growing drug discovery pipelines. Our mission is to rapidly design innovative drug candidates for critical diseases. What sets us apart is our unique use of physics and statistical mechanics algorithms to power generative AI, enabling the design of novel drug candidates without relying on experimental data. We have already achieved several drug discovery successes within our internal pipeline and through collaborations with leading pharmaceutical companies, with our most advanced programs currently undergoing in vivo optimization.
For more information, visit AQEMIA.com and our LinkedIn
drug molecule bound to a protein (Graphic: Business Wire)
Maximilien Levesque, CEO and Cofounder of AQEMIA (left) and Emmanuelle Martiano Rolland, COO and Cofounder of AQEMIA (Photo: Business Wire)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
