AI life sciences platform BenchSci secures $70m in Series D round

• The round brings BenchSci’s total funds raised to date to $170 million (C$218 million)
• The deal’s proceeds will be used to expand the company’s AI drug discovery platform, ASCEND by BenchSci
• BenchSci’s software is used by 16 of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies and by more than 50,000 scientists working at more than 4,500 research centers

BenchSci, a Toronto-based artificial intelligence (AI) solutions provider for preclinical life sciences research and development, has secured $70 million (C$95 million) in Series D financing.

Generation Investment Management led the round, with participation from existing investors Inovia Capital, TCV, Golden Ventures and F-Prime Capital.

The round brings BenchSci’s total funds raised to date to $170 million (C$218 million).

The deal’s proceeds will be used to expand the company’s AI drug discovery platform, ASCEND by BenchSci, which enables scientists to discover biological connections, dramatically reduce trial-and-error experimentation and uncover risks early.

Today, BenchSci’s software is used by 16 of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies and by more than 50,000 scientists working at more than 4,500 research centers worldwide.

“We believe more effective preclinical research is critical to a sustainable healthcare system – drug development is expensive and this cost is only increasing. BenchSci is an example of how AI can support existing drug development by helping scientists focus their research on the most promising areas of science,” said Anthony Woolf, a growth equity partner at Generation Investment Management, in a statement. “Previously, a scientist typically had to spend hundreds of hours to understand existing experiments and conclusions. With BenchSci’s models, scientists can find the same answer in minutes, accelerating drug discovery and reducing the time and cost to develop potentially life-saving drugs.”

Founded in 2015, BenchSci today has more than 400 employees.

With offices in London and San Francisco, Generation Investment Management has more than $32 billion of assets under management as of March 31, 2023. Focused on sustainable investing, is was co-founded by former US vice president Al Gore.