AQEMIA
AQEMIA is a Paris-based TechBio company whose QEMI platform combines quantum physics and generative AI to design novel drug candidates without experimental data, partnering with large pharmaceutical firms through multi-year, milestone-based co-development agreements.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersParis, France
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What AQEMIA does
AQEMIA is a Paris-based TechBio company founded in 2019 that operates a proprietary drug-discovery platform called QEMI (Quantum-Enhanced Molecular Invention), which fuses fast physics algorithms derived from quantum mechanics with generative AI to design novel small-molecule drug candidates. The platform's defining technical claim is physics-level prediction accuracy at up to 10,000× the speed of conventional physics-based methods, and—unlike most AI-drug-discovery competitors—it does not require experimental training data, enabling design of molecules against novel or undruggable targets. The platform was built on 12+ years of academic research at CNRS, École Normale Supérieure, Oxford, and Cambridge, supported by 40+ peer-reviewed publications, and is the product's primary technical moat.
The company's go-to-market is enterprise field sales targeting large pharmaceutical companies via multi-year strategic co-development partnerships involving upfront payments, research funding, and milestone payments. Flagship customers include Sanofi ($140-150M multi-year collaboration spanning oncology, immunology, inflammation, and neurology), Servier (immuno-oncology, since 2021), Janssen (pilot, since 2022), and Novalix (epitranscriptomics, since 2025). AQEMIA simultaneously pursues a wholly/partly owned proprietary pipeline—placing candidates into biotech spin-offs for clinical development—and secures non-dilutive funding through initiatives such as the France 2030 grant program (€7M / $7.4M for RNA therapeutics, April 2025).
AQEMIA is privately held, headquartered in Paris (1 Boulevard Pasteur) with a London office opened in early 2025, employs approximately 70 people, and has raised more than $100M cumulatively across pre-seed, multi-tranche Series A, and a late-2024 growth round led by Cathay Innovation. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; revenue mechanics rest on milestone-laden pharma collaborations, grants, and the future licensing or acquisition value of internally generated drug candidates.
AQEMIA firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- AQEMIA
- Legal name
- AQEMIA
- Website
- https://aqemia.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- AQEMIA is a Paris-based TechBio company whose QEMI platform combines quantum physics and generative AI to design novel drug candidates without experimental data, partnering with large pharmaceutical firms through multi-year, milestone-based co-development agreements.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
AQEMIA industry classification
Industry- Product category
- AI Drug Discovery Platform
- NAICS
- Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- AI/ML Platforms for Drug Discovery & Experiment Optimization (HLAGAJAO)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- AI/ML-Enabled Biologic Discovery Platforms (computational design, in silico screening) (HLAAAIAE), In Silico / Computational Toxicology & PK/PD Modeling (HLAGAFAM)
Keywords
Where AQEMIA is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Paris
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
AQEMIA business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Strategic Pharmaceutical Partnerships: Multi-year collaboration agreements with pharmaceutical companies involving upfront payments, research funding, and milestone payments. Includes co-development of drug candidates with revenue sharing or full ownership transferred upon milestones.
- Grant Funding: Non-dilutive funding from government initiatives such as France 2030 for specific research programs including RNA therapeutics and epitranscriptomics.
- Proprietary Drug Pipeline: Wholly or partly owned drug candidates placed into constellation of biotech spin-offs to carry out clinical trials, with potential licensing or acquisition value.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
AQEMIA product offering
Product offeringCore offering
AQEMIA operates a proprietary platform called QEMI that combines fast quantum-physics algorithms with generative AI to design novel drug candidates without relying on experimental training data. The platform predicts drug-target affinities at atomic scale up to 10,000x faster than conventional methods, enabling the discovery of small molecules for previously undruggable targets. The company monetizes this capability through multi-year co-development partnerships with large pharmaceutical firms and through its own proprietary pipeline of wholly or partly owned drug programs.
Product overview
AQEMIA operates as a TechBio company offering a single unified technology platform, QEMI (Quantum-Enhanced Molecular Invention), which combines fast physics derived from quantum mechanics with generative AI. The platform enables physics-first drug discovery without experimental training data, supporting both wholly owned therapeutic programs and partnered collaborations with pharmaceutical companies. AQEMIA's approach is applied across oncology, immunology, inflammation, neurological diseases, and RNA therapeutics, with programs progressing toward clinical trials.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- QEMI Platform Proprietary generative AI and fast-physics platform that combines quantum-mechanics-based predictions with generative AI to design novel molecules. QEMI delivers physics-level accuracy up to 10,000x faster than conventional methods, enabling scalable exploration of chemical space for drug discovery, and is used by AQEMIA to support both partnered programs and its wholly owned pipeline.
- Pharmaceutical Co-Discovery Partnerships Multi-year collaboration agreements under which AQEMIA applies the QEMI platform to design novel molecules for pharmaceutical partners' therapeutic programs, in exchange for upfront payments, research funding, and milestone-based economics. Customers include Sanofi, Servier, and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson).
- Proprietary Drug Pipeline Wholly or partly owned drug candidates discovered via the QEMI platform, advanced through biotech spin-offs or licensing arrangements toward clinical milestones. Includes a recent RNA Therapeutics Expansion Program supported by France 2030 grant funding for epitranscriptomics and small-molecule RNA targeting including anti-cancer projects.
Quantifiable outcome
- Physics-level accuracy up to 10,000× faster than conventional methods
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use AQEMIA
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
AQEMIA technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature3 records
AQEMIA partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor, flagship and core.
- NovalixminorPartnership for epitranscriptomics programs advancing small-molecule RNA targeting for diseases including cancer treatments.
- SanofiflagshipMajor multi-year collaboration valued at $150 million for AI and quantum physics-driven drug discovery across multiple therapeutic areas including oncology, immunology, inflammation, and neurological diseases. Original announcement in December 2023, with ongoing programs advancing toward clinical trials.
- Janssen (Johnson & Johnson)minorPilot study to evaluate and utilize Aqemia's physics-driven drug discovery technology for potential drug development programs.
- ServiercoreAI and quantum physics-driven drug discovery collaboration focused on immuno-oncology. Extended first collaboration in June 2022 for additional oncology programs.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
AQEMIA competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Atomwise: AI-driven small-molecule drug discovery company using convolutional neural networks for structure-based design. Comparable to AQEMIA on AI-physics hybrid discovery and pharma partnerships, with a broader portfolio of industry collaborations.
- Isomorphic Labs: Alphabet-owned AI drug discovery company spun out of DeepMind, applying AlphaFold-derived methods to pharma discovery. Direct competitor on AI-for-drug-discovery with substantially greater capital backing and access to Google's compute infrastructure.
- Insilico Medicine: AI-driven drug discovery company combining generative AI, deep learning, and reinforcement learning for de novo molecule design and target identification. Direct competitor to AQEMIA's QEMI platform with overlapping therapeutic-area focus and several clinical-stage assets already in the pipeline.
- XtalPi: AI- and quantum-physics-driven drug discovery company combining computational chemistry with experimental validation. Comparable to AQEMIA's physics-first methodology and crystal-structure prediction capabilities; larger scale with extensive CRO presence in China.
- Schrödinger: Physics-based computational drug discovery platform combining molecular simulation, machine learning, and collaborative pharma partnerships. Closely comparable to AQEMIA on the physics-first methodology and enterprise pharma BD model; Schrödinger is publicly listed with a more mature product portfolio.
- Exscientia: AI-driven precision medicine company using generative AI and active learning to accelerate small-molecule drug discovery. Direct competitor on platform model and big-pharma partnerships; Exscientia has advanced multiple candidates into clinical trials.
- Recursion Pharmaceuticals: Publicly listed TechBio combining high-throughput biology with AI/ML to discover and develop drugs at scale. Directly comparable to AQEMIA on platform-driven discovery model and pharma partnership strategy, though Recursion operates at a much larger scale with multiple clinical programs.
Broad incumbents
- BenevolentAI: AI-driven drug discovery company using knowledge graphs and machine learning for target identification and molecule design. Comparable on AI-augmented pharma discovery but with a more target-identification-led approach than AQEMIA's physics-based molecular design.
Regional players
- Iktos: France-based AI company specializing in generative modeling for small-molecule drug design. Direct overlap on AI-driven molecular generation and a regional peer in the French TechBio ecosystem, though focused exclusively on generative chemistry rather than physics-based affinity prediction.
Emerging players
- Iambic: AI-driven drug discovery company combining physics-based modeling with generative AI for small-molecule design. Strong technical overlap with AQEMIA's physics-first QEMI platform and a similar stage of company development, making it a closely comparable emerging peer.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
AQEMIA social profiles
Digital presenceAQEMIA compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
AQEMIA financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
AQEMIA leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
AQEMIA funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors7 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
AQEMIA 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 AQEMIA
What does AQEMIA do?
AQEMIA operates a proprietary platform called QEMI that combines fast quantum-physics algorithms with generative AI to design novel drug candidates without relying on experimental training data. The platform predicts drug-target affinities at atomic scale up to 10,000x faster than conventional methods, enabling the discovery of small molecules for previously undruggable targets. The company monetizes this capability through multi-year co-development partnerships with large pharmaceutical firms and through its own proprietary pipeline of wholly or partly owned drug programs.
Is AQEMIA a public or private company?
AQEMIA is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was AQEMIA founded?
AQEMIA was founded in 2019. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is AQEMIA based?
AQEMIA is headquartered in Paris, France, in the Europe region.
How does AQEMIA make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Strategic Pharmaceutical Partnerships are the primary driver. The others are grant Funding and proprietary Drug Pipeline.
Who are AQEMIA's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Atomwise, Isomorphic Labs, Insilico Medicine, XtalPi, Schrödinger, Exscientia and Recursion Pharmaceuticals. BenevolentAI is listed as a broad incumbent. Iktos is listed as a regional player. Iambic is listed as an emerging player.
Does AQEMIA have an API?
No public API is recorded for AQEMIA.
What industry is AQEMIA in?
AQEMIA's product category is AI Drug Discovery Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAJAO, AI/ML Platforms for Drug Discovery & Experiment Optimization, with a secondary code of HLAAAIAE, AI/ML-Enabled Biologic Discovery Platforms (computational design, in silico screening). Its NAICS code is 541714 and its SIC code is 8731.