Gradient Ventures, the artificial intelligence-focused investment arm of internet technology provider Google, has re-invested in Canada-based biological research index developer BenchSci.
The investment brought BenchSci’s total funding to C$27.2m ($20.8m), having previously secured $8m in a May 2018 series A round that was led by iNovia and featured Gradient Ventures.
Golden Venture Partners, Afore Capital, Real Ventures and Radical Ventures also all took part in the series A round.
Founded in 2015, BenchSci has developed machine learning-powered software that helps researchers find reliable antibodies by converting published data from biomedical research papers into experiment-specific recommendations.
The funding will be used to expand BenchSci’s Toronto office and to hire additional staff, with a focus on engineering talent.
The company reportedly received C$1.4m ($1m at current exchange rates) in a seed round co-led by Golden Venture Partners and Real Ventures, though the timing is unclear.
BenchSci had already collected C$250,000 ($190,000 at currentrates) in pre-seed funding from Real Ventures’ FounderFuel accelerator, according to Canadian daily Globe and Mail, which did not reveal a date for the transaction.