Celsius Therapeutics
Celsius Therapeutics is a Cambridge-based biotech that built an AI-driven drug discovery platform to develop precision medicines for inflammatory bowel disease and other immune-mediated conditions; acquired by AbbVie in June 2024.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersCambridge, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Celsius Therapeutics does
Celsius Therapeutics was a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotechnology company founded in 2018 to develop precision medicines for patients with cancer and autoimmune disease, with a primary operational focus on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. The company built an AI-driven drug discovery platform designed to identify and advance novel therapeutic candidates, progressing its lead IBD drug into clinical-stage development. The platform was positioned around a proprietary, novel-method architecture for target identification in immune-mediated diseases, supported by a founding team of leading academic immunologists and computational biologists.
The business model was a pre-revenue, R&D-intensive biotech model rather than a commercial product model. Celsius did not sell drugs, license its platform to third parties for recurring fees, or operate distribution channels. Instead, it raised venture capital to fund internal drug development, ultimately targeting acquisition or partnership with a larger pharmaceutical company. The company raised approximately $148 million in total disclosed venture funding across a 2018 Series A (led by Third Rock Ventures, $65M) and a 2022 Series B (led by Casdin Capital, $83M), with participation from Google Ventures, Alexandria Venture Investments, Casdin Capital, Amgen Ventures, and others.
In June 2024, AbbVie acquired Celsius Therapeutics for $250 million, integrating the company and its IBD pipeline into AbbVie's immunology franchise. The acquisition occurred against a backdrop of consolidation in the techbio sector, where large pharmaceutical companies acquired later-stage private AI-biology assets. Following the acquisition, Celsius operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary within AbbVie, with no independent commercial operations, customers, or revenue stream of its own.
Celsius Therapeutics firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Celsius Therapeutics
- Website
- https://celsiustx.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Celsius Therapeutics is a Cambridge-based biotech that built an AI-driven drug discovery platform to develop precision medicines for inflammatory bowel disease and other immune-mediated conditions; acquired by AbbVie in June 2024.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Celsius Therapeutics industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Biotechnology Therapeutics
- NAICS
- Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)
- SIC
- Biological Products, (No Disgnostic Substances) (2836), Pharmaceutical Preparations (2834)
- akta.pro primary industry
- AI/ML-Enabled Biologic Discovery Platforms (computational design, in silico screening) (HLAAAIAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- AI/ML Platforms for Drug Discovery & Experiment Optimization (HLAGAJAO)
Keywords
Where Celsius Therapeutics is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cambridge
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Celsius Therapeutics business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations
Celsius Therapeutics product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Celsius Therapeutics developed precision medicines for cancer and autoimmune disease, with a primary focus on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The company used AI-driven single-cell genomics and machine learning to identify novel therapeutic targets and advance drug candidates into clinical development for immune-mediated diseases.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Lead IBD Drug Candidate Clinical-stage therapeutic candidate for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), developed using AI-driven single-cell genomics analysis to identify novel targets in immune-mediated disease. Aimed at patients with IBD and targeted for acquisition/licensing by large pharmaceutical companies.
Quantifiable outcome
- Progressed IBD drug candidate to clinical stage
Companies that use Celsius Therapeutics
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Celsius Therapeutics technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Celsius Therapeutics partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators2 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Celsius Therapeutics competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Insitro: Machine-learning-driven drug discovery platform focused on predictive models of disease. Highly comparable to Celsius as an AI-native biotech; Insitro was similarly acquired by Eli Lilly in 2024, paralleling Celsius's exit via AbbVie.
- Recursion Pharmaceuticals: AI-driven drug discovery company combining high-throughput biology with machine learning to advance a clinical pipeline. Closely comparable as a techbio platform company that progressed candidates to the clinic, although Recursion operates at much larger scale and is publicly listed.
- Exscientia: Pioneer in AI-driven small molecule drug design with multiple clinical-stage candidates. Directly comparable as a techbio peer using AI to design therapeutics and recently merged with Recursion amid sector consolidation.
- BenevolentAI: AI platform for drug discovery with a clinical pipeline in inflammatory and oncologic indications. Comparable techbio peer using knowledge graphs and ML to identify novel targets — overlapping therapeutic-area interest in immune-mediated disease.
- AbCellera Biologics: AI/ML-enabled antibody discovery platform with multiple partnered clinical assets. Comparable as a techbio using machine learning to accelerate biologics discovery and generate clinical-stage therapeutic candidates.
- Generate Biomedicines: Generative AI platform for designing novel protein therapeutics across multiple indications. Comparable AI-native biologics discovery peer with a similar 'platform-to-pipeline' model and pharma partnerships.
- Cellarity: Single-cell-omics-driven drug discovery platform founded by Flagship Pioneering. Comparable to Celsius given co-founder Aviv Regev's parallel work in single-cell biology and the shared AI-omics-to-therapeutics approach.
- Owkin: AI biotech applying machine learning to biomedical data for target discovery and clinical development. Comparable as an AI-driven therapeutic discovery company, though Owkin is more diagnostics-and-trials focused.
- Lantern Pharma: AI-driven oncology drug development company using machine learning to identify responders and rescue/advance therapeutic candidates. Comparable techbio model at smaller scale and in oncology rather than autoimmune disease.
- Prometheus Biosciences: IBD-focused precision immunology biotech acquired by Merck for ~$11B in 2023. Closest therapeutic-area peer (same IBD/immunology focus) and a comparable exit-via-pharma-acquisition narrative at much larger scale.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Celsius Therapeutics social profiles
Digital presenceCelsius Therapeutics financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Celsius Therapeutics leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Celsius Therapeutics funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors11 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Celsius Therapeutics 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 Celsius Therapeutics
What does Celsius Therapeutics do?
Celsius Therapeutics developed precision medicines for cancer and autoimmune disease, with a primary focus on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The company used AI-driven single-cell genomics and machine learning to identify novel therapeutic targets and advance drug candidates into clinical development for immune-mediated diseases.
Is Celsius Therapeutics a public or private company?
Celsius Therapeutics is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.
When was Celsius Therapeutics founded?
Celsius Therapeutics was founded in 2018. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Celsius Therapeutics based?
Celsius Therapeutics is headquartered in Cambridge, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Celsius Therapeutics's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Insitro, Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Exscientia, BenevolentAI, AbCellera Biologics, Generate Biomedicines, Cellarity, Owkin, Lantern Pharma and Prometheus Biosciences.
Does Celsius Therapeutics have an API?
No public API is recorded for Celsius Therapeutics.
What industry is Celsius Therapeutics in?
Celsius Therapeutics's product category is Biotechnology Therapeutics. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAAAIAE, AI/ML-Enabled Biologic Discovery Platforms (computational design, in silico screening), with a secondary code of HLAGAJAO, AI/ML Platforms for Drug Discovery & Experiment Optimization. Its NAICS code is 541714 and its SIC code is 2836.