Spring Discovery builds high-throughput experimental systems that combine experimental biology, engineering, machine learning, and lab automation to accelerate discovery of aging therapies. Its platform runs full experiments on biological materials such as human cells and mice to identify what changes in cells and tissues as people age. The company aims to find therapies that could reverse those changes and reduce risk of age-related diseases including cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s. Founder and CEO Ben Kamens, previously the first hire and lead engineer at Khan Academy, says Spring mixes engineers skilled in ML and AI with scientists in stem-cell biology and genetics to speed discoveries. Spring announced an $18 million Series A and plans to use the funding to expand its laboratory in San Carlos and hire roughly 20 new team members over the next two years. Advisers include Elad Gil, Sasha Kamb, and Sam Altman, and Kamens’ experience living with Type 1 diabetes has informed his appreciation for health and the company’s mission. Spring Discovery is a Palo Alto, CA-based company that provides a machine learning-based drug discovery platform. Led by founder and CEO Ben Kamens, it applies a novel computational approach to accelerate discovery of therapies for aging and related diseases. The company raised $4.25M in seed funding. Backers named in the article include General Catalyst, First Round, Sam Altman, Longevity Fund, Sea Lane Ventures, Joe Betts-Lacroix and Greg Brockman. Spring Discovery intends to use the funds to continue to expand its operations.

Total raised

$22M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Dec 2018