As the startup scene in France thrives, exemplified by companies like Mistral, Poolside, and Adaptive, Paris-based Bioptimus has stepped out of stealth mode after securing $35 million in seed funding. The company is on a mission to develop the first universal AI foundation model for biology. This innovative open science approach aims to integrate various biological scales using generative AI, spanning from molecules to cells, tissues, and complete organisms.
Bioptimus brings together a talented team comprising former Google DeepMind members and scientists from Owkin, a French AI biotech unicorn. Leveraging AWS computing capabilities, Owkin’s data generation expertise, and access to diverse patient data from top academic hospitals globally, Bioptimus is poised to create computational representations that set it apart from models trained solely on public datasets and single data modalities.
In an interview with VentureBeat, Jean-Philippe Vert, the co-founder and CEO of Bioptimus, highlighted the company’s agility compared to larger entities like Google DeepMind in accessing the necessary data to train biology models. By fostering collaborations and building trust with partners, Bioptimus aims to accelerate its progress and ensure data sovereignty.
Rodolphe Jenatton, another key figure at Bioptimus and a former research scientist at Google DeepMind, emphasized the company’s commitment to open source practices, mirroring Mistral’s model releases. Transparency, sharing, and community engagement are core principles guiding Bioptimus’ endeavors.
Unlike existing AI models limited to specific biological aspects, Bioptimus aims to provide a comprehensive view of biology by integrating diverse data sources into a unified model. Vert underscored the significance of data access as a key challenge, noting Bioptimus’ strategic advantage in this area through its partnership with Owkin.
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