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Since its creation in 2019, AQEMIA has established itself as a key French player in pharmaceutical research. Its innovative technology, combining artificial intelligence and advanced physics, pushes the boundaries of drug discovery by offering unprecedented speed and precision.
From academic origins to startup
The story of AQEMIA begins in 2013, when Maximilien Levesquedigital theorist at CNRS and to theENS-PSLdevelops its research on advanced numerical models. After several years of post-docs at Oxford, Cambridge And Sorbonne Universityhe identifies a promising connection between his scientific work and the field of drug discovery. This intuition pushes him to participate in the competition Start-Ulm in 2017, a competition organized by the normaliens. This competition validates the commercial potential of its project and marks a decisive step in the transformation of its academic research into a deeptech company.
It was also on this occasion that he met Olivier Vauryformer normalien and future Business Angel, who will play a key role in the development of the startup. Collaboration with Emmanuelle Martianoformer consultant who worked for 10 years at Boston Consulting Group (BCG)marks a decisive turning point. Together, they lay the foundations of AQEMIA.
At the beginning of 2019, the spin-off was officially born thanks to the support of PSL Valuationan entity dedicated to the maturation of innovative projects. Shortly after, AQEMIA completed its first fundraising with investors such as PSL Innovation Fundallowing him to structure his first activities.
Technology 10,000 times faster
One of AQEMIA’s main assets lies in its ability to predict, at unprecedented speed, the effectiveness of therapeutic molecules. Where market leaders require several months to carry out this work, AQEMIA is able to evaluate the effectiveness of a million molecules in a single dayeither 10,000 times faster than its competitors.
This technological advance is based on powerful algorithms, combining artificial intelligence, statistical physics And quantum physics. This unique approach allows AQEMIA to position itself as a key player in a field where speed and precision are decisive. With a specialization in oncology, AQEMIA competes with American players such as RECURSION, INSILICO MEDICINE, RELAY THERAPEUTICSAnd SCHRÖDINGER. Among French startups, Qubit Pharmaceuticals And OWKIN are also references in this field.
A strategic partnership with Sanofi
From its beginnings, AQEMIA attracted the attention of major players in the pharmaceutical industry. In 2020, the company entered into a partnership with Sanofi to apply its technology to the search for treatments against Covid-19. This partnership constituted a major validation of the scientific and commercial relevance of AQEMIA. SANOFI also bet on its competitor OWKIN by investing more than 180 million euros in 2021 in Thomas CLOZEL’s startup.
International expansion and fundraising
AQEMIA announces having raised 38 million euros during a round table led by Cathay Innovationaccompanied by its historic investors: Wendel, Bpifrance Large Venture, EurazeoAnd Elaia. This financing, entirely in equity, aims to:
- Double the workforce to reach 120 employees by the end of 2025.
- Strengthening international expansion with the opening of an office in London
- Prepare the first clinical trials by the end of 2025.
This new funding round brings AQEMIA’s funding to €98.1 million since its creation.
