Nabla Bio
Nabla Bio operates a proprietary generative AI platform (JAM/JAM-2) integrated with mammalian wet-lab systems to design drug-like antibodies and multispecifics de novo. It serves large pharmaceutical companies including Takeda, AstraZeneca, and Bristol Myers Squibb through multi-year research collaborations and licensing arrangements.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersCambridge, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Nabla Bio does
Nabla Bio is a privately held biotechnology company founded in 2020 and based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that operates a generative AI platform for de novo antibody and biologics design. Its core technology, JAM (Joint Atomic Modeling) and its successor JAM-2, is a proprietary multimodal generative model trained on protein sequence and structure data and reinforced with Nabla-generated, human-relevant wet-lab measurements. JAM takes partial molecular context — such as a disease target or epitope — and "autocompletes" the rest, enabling de novo antibody design, epitope scaffolding, developability and affinity optimization, and the design of developable multispecific architectures. The platform is tightly integrated with mammalian wet-lab systems that produce thousands of protein designs and measure binding, developability, cellular function, and in vivo behavior in human-relevant contexts, with a particular emphasis on hard-to-drug targets such as GPCRs, ion channels, transporters, and multipass membrane proteins.
The company serves large pharmaceutical companies through multi-year research collaborations and a secondary biologics-licensing motion. Disclosed enterprise customers include Takeda Pharmaceutical Company (initial collaboration 2022, expanded October 2025), AstraZeneca, and Bristol Myers Squibb. Reported cumulative deal value across these three partners exceeds $550 million, including a second Takeda deal with potential success-based milestones exceeding $1 billion if all targets advance. Deal economics combine upfront payments, double-digit-million research funding, and milestone-contingent payments. The company also develops an internal portfolio of designed biologics and licenses these to partners with downstream development expertise.
Nabla has raised approximately $37 million in disclosed venture funding — an $11 million seed round in December 2021 (co-led by Khosla Ventures and Zetta Venture Partners) and a $26 million Series A in May 2024 (led by Radical Ventures). The team of 11-50 employees operates fully in-person from a single Cambridge, MA headquarters and is led by co-founders Surge Biswas (CEO), Frances Anastassacos (President), and George Church, with Rose Harrison as Chief Business Officer. Technical claims — including 20-70x higher binding success rates on difficult receptors, sub-nanomolar affinities on CXCR4, and experimentally validated binders on 5 of 9 publicly comparable de novo antibody targets in a May 2026 third-party comparative study — are documented in bioRxiv preprints, technical reports, and Nature-family publications.
Nabla Bio firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Nabla Bio
- Legal name
- Nabla Bio, Inc
- Website
- https://nabla.bio
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Nabla Bio operates a proprietary generative AI platform (JAM/JAM-2) integrated with mammalian wet-lab systems to design drug-like antibodies and multispecifics de novo. It serves large pharmaceutical companies including Takeda, AstraZeneca, and Bristol Myers Squibb through multi-year research collaborations and licensing arrangements.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Nabla Bio industry classification
Industry- Product category
- AI Biologics Design Platform
- NAICS
- Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- AI/ML-Enabled Biologic Discovery Platforms (computational design, in silico screening) (HLAAAIAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Protein Engineering & Directed Evolution Platforms (enzyme/therapeutic protein optimization) (HLAAAIAC)
Keywords
Where Nabla Bio is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cambridge
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Nabla Bio business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Multi-year pharma research collaborations: Nabla enters multi-year research collaborations with large pharmaceutical companies (e.g., Takeda — initial 2022 partnership, expanded October 2025) in which Nabla applies JAM to design antibodies and multispecifics against agreed therapeutic targets. Deal economics include upfront payments, double-digit-million research payments, and success-based milestone payments (Takeda deal: potential milestones exceeding $1B if all targets advance).
- Licensing of internally designed biologics: Nabla develops a growing portfolio of designed biologics against high-value disease targets and licenses these molecules to partners with downstream development expertise to accelerate the path to patients.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Outcome Based/ Performance | Multi-year contract | Deal-based research collaboration pricing — upfront + research payments + milestone payments |
| Other | — | Licensing of internally designed biologics portfolio |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels7 records
Nabla Bio product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Nabla Bio operates an integrated AI-driven drug design platform centered on its proprietary generative modeling system, JAM (Joint Atomic Model) and its next-generation version JAM-2. The platform combines de novo molecular design of antibodies and multispecifics with a tightly integrated mammalian wet-lab testing engine that produces thousands of protein designs and measures binding, developability, and cellular/in vivo function. It is delivered to partners via multi-year research collaborations and the licensing of internally designed biologics.
Product overview
Nabla Bio offers a single integrated AI-driven drug design platform centered on its proprietary generative modeling system, JAM (and its next-generation version JAM-2), paired with an in-house human-relevant wet-lab testing engine. The platform combines de novo molecular design with large-scale experimental biology — the JAM/JAM-2 models take partial molecular context (e.g., a disease target or epitope) and design antibodies, multispecifics, and other biologics, while Nabla's wet-lab systems produce thousands of designs in mammalian systems and measure binding, developability, and function. Together, JAM, JAM-2, the wet-lab engine, and the licensing portfolio of designed biologics form the company's full offering, delivered to partners via research collaborations (e.g., Takeda, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb) and licensing arrangements.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- JAM (Joint Atomic Model): Nabla's multimodal generative modeling system trained on protein sequence and structure data, used for de novo antibody and multispecific biologics design, epitope scaffolding, developability and affinity optimization.
- JAM-2
Products and services
- JAM (Joint Atomic Model) Multimodal generative modeling system trained on massive protein sequence and structure data and strengthened with Nabla-generated human-relevant measurements. Takes partial molecular context such as a disease target or epitope and 'autocompletes' the rest, enabling de novo biologics design, epitope scaffolding/presentation, developability and affinity optimization, and rapid generation of developable multispecific architectures.
- JAM-2 Next-generation version of JAM that generates drug-like antibodies straight from the computer. Achieves binding success rates 20-70x higher than previous methods and was used to discover the first antibody activators for CXCR7 and hundreds of functional GPCR-targeting antibodies.
- Human-Relevant Data Generation / Wet-Lab Testing Engine Nabla's in-house experimental systems produce thousands of protein designs in mammalian systems and measure binding, developability properties, and function in cellular and in vivo contexts that closely reflect human biology, generating the integrated data that sharpens JAM's ability to design drug-like molecules from the start.
- Designed Biologics Portfolio (Licensing) Growing portfolio of Nabla-designed biologics against high-value disease targets (including antibodies and multispecifics), which Nabla licenses to partners with deep development expertise to accelerate their path to patients.
Quantifiable outcome
- 20-70x higher binding success rates vs previous methods on difficult receptors (GPCRs)
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Nabla Bio
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Nabla Bio technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability2 records
Feature7 records
Nabla Bio partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- Takeda Pharmaceutical CompanyflagshipMulti-year research collaboration to develop AI-driven protein therapeutics, including antibodies and multispecifics, using Nabla's Joint Atomic Model (JAM) platform. Builds on an initial 2022 collaboration. Nabla receives upfront and double-digit-million research payments plus potential success-based milestone payments exceeding $1 billion if all targets advance successfully.
- AstraZenecacoreDisclosed pharma partnership contributing to Fast Company-reported $550M+ cumulative deal value across AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Takeda. Logo appears on nabla.bio partner block alongside Takeda and BMS.
- Bristol Myers SquibbcoreDisclosed pharma partnership contributing to Fast Company-reported $550M+ cumulative deal value across AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Takeda. Logo appears on nabla.bio partner block alongside Takeda and AstraZeneca.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Nabla Bio competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- LabGenius: UK-based AI-driven antibody discovery company combining machine learning with automated wet-lab experimentation. Frequently grouped with Nabla in industry coverage as a competing next-gen antibody design platform.
- Xaira Therapeutics: AI-first drug discovery company applying foundation models to antibody and protein design, launched with >$1B in funding. A leading direct competitor pursuing similar pharma partnerships and internal pipeline development.
- Absci: Public AI drug creation company building generative AI models for de novo antibody design paired with high-throughput wet-lab validation. Competes head-to-head with Nabla for pharma collaboration deals on novel biologics.
- Generate:Biomedicines: Generative biology company developing de novo protein therapeutics across antibodies, enzymes, and peptides. Sells into pharma via partnerships and is consistently cited alongside Nabla as a leader in generative antibody design.
- Chai Discovery: AI-driven protein and antibody design platform that emerged as a direct competitor; Chai-2 was benchmarked against Nabla's JAM-2 in a third-party study (4/9 vs 5/9 targets), confirming comparable product scope and target customer (pharma partners).
Broad incumbents
- Schrödinger: Public computational chemistry and biology platform with a growing biologics design offering and established pharma software footprint. Overlaps with Nabla in computational antibody and protein design at pharma customers.
- Recursion Pharmaceuticals: Public AI-driven drug discovery company pairing high-throughput wet-lab experimentation with foundation models. Operates in adjacent — and partially overlapping — AI biologics discovery territory with Nabla.
- Isomorphic Labs: Alphabet-owned AI drug discovery company applying DeepMind's AlphaFold-derived capabilities to therapeutic design. A broader, well-capitalized incumbent with overlapping ambitions in AI-driven protein and antibody engineering.
Emerging players
- Cradle Bio: AI protein engineering company using generative models to optimize protein properties for biotech and pharma partners. Comparable in applying generative AI to protein design with a partnership-led GTM, though focused on a broader set of protein classes.
- Galux: Korean AI protein design company whose GaluxDesign platform topped the third-party benchmark at 8/9 targets versus Nabla's 5/9. Emerging competitor with strong published de novo antibody design results.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Nabla Bio social profiles
Digital presenceNabla Bio financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Nabla Bio leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Nabla Bio funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors9 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Nabla Bio M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Nabla Bio
What does Nabla Bio do?
Nabla Bio operates an integrated AI-driven drug design platform centered on its proprietary generative modeling system, JAM (Joint Atomic Model) and its next-generation version JAM-2. The platform combines de novo molecular design of antibodies and multispecifics with a tightly integrated mammalian wet-lab testing engine that produces thousands of protein designs and measures binding, developability, and cellular/in vivo function. It is delivered to partners via multi-year research collaborations and the licensing of internally designed biologics.
Is Nabla Bio a public or private company?
Nabla Bio is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Nabla Bio founded?
Nabla Bio was founded in 2020. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Nabla Bio based?
Nabla Bio is headquartered in Cambridge, United States, in the North America region.
How does Nabla Bio make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Multi-year pharma research collaborations are the primary driver. The others are licensing of internally designed biologics.
Who are Nabla Bio's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are LabGenius, Xaira Therapeutics, Absci, Generate:Biomedicines and Chai Discovery. Broad incumbents are Schrödinger, Recursion Pharmaceuticals and Isomorphic Labs. Emerging players are Cradle Bio and Galux.
Does Nabla Bio have an API?
No public API is recorded for Nabla Bio.
What industry is Nabla Bio in?
Nabla Bio's product category is AI Biologics Design Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAAAIAE, AI/ML-Enabled Biologic Discovery Platforms (computational design, in silico screening), with a secondary code of HLAAAIAC, Protein Engineering & Directed Evolution Platforms (enzyme/therapeutic protein optimization). Its NAICS code is 541714 and its SIC code is 8731.