Cradle, a generative AI biotech startup founded in 2021, has successfully raised $73 million in a Series B funding round led by IVP, bringing its total capital raised to over $100 million.

Part of the investment will also be used to grow Cradle's wet lab capabilities and engineering team to enhance machine learning functionalities for complex protein tasks.

Cradle has established a strong client base, including major pharmaceutical companies like Novo Nordisk and Johnson & Johnson, and is currently working on 31 revenue-generating projects, a significant increase from just four projects a year ago.

The company has reported a remarkable 15-fold increase in projects utilizing its platform over the past year, indicating substantial commercial growth.

The company plans to allocate the new funding to expand its commercial team, enhance its Amsterdam-based laboratory for better data collection, and improve its computing capabilities.

Cradle's generative AI platform allows for faster and more cost-effective protein engineering, achieving cost savings of up to 90% in its R&D processes.

One notable success includes a biotechnology client that quadrupled the activity of the P450 enzyme in just three experimental rounds, showcasing the platform's efficiency compared to traditional methods.

This funding round comes amid a broader trend of increasing investment in AI-driven pharmaceutical research, with other companies like Basecamp Research and Formation Bio also receiving significant funding.

Cradle is part of a growing trend of techbio startups that focus on enhancing drug development through AI, contrasting with older models that aimed to develop drugs independently.

CEO Stef van Grieken emphasized the company's mission to address global health challenges using generative AI, with a goal to empower one million scientists worldwide through their software.

Research indicates that developing a new drug can cost between $280 million and $380 million, with only 1 in 24 projects succeeding in reaching the market, highlighting the need for innovative solutions like Cradle's.

The platform supports a variety of applications, including enzymes, antibodies, peptides, vaccines, and therapeutic proteins, with a current focus on designing optimal enzymes.