Isomorphic Labs raises $2.1B Series B; first human trials of its AI-designed drugs slip to end-2026
On 12 May 2026 Alphabet's DeepMind spin-off Isomorphic Labs announced a $2.1B Series B led by Thrive Capital. The money is for its IsoDDE drug-design engine and its in-house pipeline. Earlier, at Davos in January 2026, Demis Hassabis had moved the target for first clinical trials of Isomorphic-designed drugs from end-2025 to end-2026. No first dosing had been publicly reported by late September 2026.
Key facts
- Series B $2.1B led by Thrive Capital; Alphabet and GV participated; new investors MGX, Temasek, CapitalG and the UK Sovereign AI Fund
- Follows a $600M first external round (2025, also led by Thrive)
- Funds to develop IsoDDE, hire across London, Cambridge (MA) and Lausanne, and advance an in-house pipeline (oncology focus reported)
- Partnered small-molecule discovery deals with Eli Lilly and Novartis
- Jan 2026 (Davos): Hassabis said Isomorphic now 'expects to have its first clinical trials by the end of 2026', after earlier forecasting AI-designed drugs in trials by end-2025
- Hassabis: the round is 'a massive vote of confidence ... in our AI-first drug design approach'
What happened
Isomorphic Labs raised one of the largest private rounds ever for an AI drug-discovery company, three months after unveiling IsoDDE. The clinical milestone keeps slipping, though. First-in-human trials were promised for 2025, then moved to end-2026.
Why it matters
Investors are betting heavily on AlphaFold's commercial successor. The real test is whether Isomorphic's molecules reach patients and work, and that has not happened yet. Watch for an IND filing or first dosing by the end of 2026.
Changelog
- 2026-09-29: created
Related events
- Isomorphic Labs unveils IsoDDE drug-discovery engine, hailed as 'an AlphaFold 4' — but proprietary ★★★
- AlphaFold 3 predicts structures and interactions of all life's molecules ★★★★
- FT: Google DeepMind has broken up its Nobel-winning AlphaFold team; Jumper, Adler and Pritzel now at Anthropic ★★★
- Demis Hassabis steps aside as Google DeepMind CEO; Koray Kavukcuoglu takes over, Jeff Dean leaves ★★★★
Sources (5)
- officialIsomorphic Labs: Series B investment round announcement
- officialPR Newswire: Isomorphic Labs secures $2.1B to scale its AI drug design engine
- pressFierce Biotech: Isomorphic Labs bags $2.1B Series B
- pressYahoo Finance: Google-backed AI drug discovery firm pushes first trials to end-2026 (Jan 2026)
- pressFortune: Isomorphic Labs nears first human trials (Jul 2025)
id: 2026-05-12-isomorphic-labs-series-b · updated 2026-09-29 · open in the interactive timeline