Internet and telecommunications group SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 led a $180m series C round on Wednesday for Deep Genomics, a Canada-based RNA therapy developer.
The round also featured Alexandria Venture Investments, the venture capital arm of life sciences real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities, as well as investment and financial services group Fidelity, Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, Amplitude Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Magnetic Ventures and True Ventures.
Founded in 2015, Deep Genomics uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to develop transformational RNA therapies for genetic diseases. Its AI Workbench platform can decode vast amounts of data on RNA biology, identifying novel targets for genetic disorders and therapeutic programmes.
The company will use the funding to further expand AI Workbench and scale its pipeline to 30 drug candidates as it applies its technology to more complex and common diseases. It also intends to advance four programmes into the clinic by 2023 and further strengthen its clinical development capabilities.
Deep Genomics additionally expects to grow its footprint in Toronto, Ontario and Cambridge, Massachusetts, and double in size over the next two years. Elena Viboch, investment director at SoftBank Investment Advisers, which manages Vision Fund, will join its board of directors in conjunction with the round.
The company secured $40m in a January 2020 series B round led by venture capital firm Future Ventures, with contributions from Amplitude Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Magnetic Ventures and True Ventures.
The 2020 round came after Deep Genomics collected $13m in a series A round led by Khosla Ventures that included True Ventures. It had already received $3.8m in a 2015 seed round led by True Ventures and backed by media group Bloomberg’s AI-focused VC firm, Bloomberg Beta.