What AIGEN Sciences does

AIGEN Sciences is a Seoul-headquartered, venture-backed AI drug discovery company founded in 2021 as a spinout from Professor Jaewoo Kang's lab at Korea University. The company applies proprietary biomedical large language models and multi-omics data integration to accelerate small-molecule and biologics discovery, combining generative molecular design, transcriptome-based target analysis, and human-in-the-loop workflows. Its technology stack includes BioBERT (the first biomedical LLM, cited over 7,000 times) and Meerkat-7B (a ~7 billion parameter on-premise-deployable biomedical LLM that became the first compact LLM to pass the USMLE with 85.8 points), operationalized through three integrated platforms: AIGEN InSight for target discovery and biomarker identification using multi-omics and curated databases, AIGEN ChemTailor for generative molecular design using Synthon Screening, Diffusion, and Transformer models, and the AIGEN Discovery platform that screens a 3 billion compound library at cellular resolution.

AIGEN serves pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies through co-development agreements and AI platform licensing, claiming to compress lead candidate identification timelines from 2-3 years to approximately 6 months and reduce required synthesis from 300 compounds to 30. Named partners include Hanmi Pharmaceutical (ADC dual-payload co-development), Yuhan Corporation (anticancer mechanism-of-action research), Nobility Nobility (ADC payload design), Incubic (transcription factor inhibitors), K-Medihub (lead optimization), Crystal Genomics (immuno-oncology), Elmyto Therapeutics (neurological disorder candidates), and technology collaborators FLock.io (federated learning) and Mepsgen (microphysiological systems). The company's owned pipeline includes five named preclinical candidates (AIG01 SOS1, AIG07 USP1, AIG13 PARG, AIG14 KRAS G12C ON, AIG18 METTL3) targeting oncology indications.

The company operates a pre-commercial, B2B enterprise model monetized through upfront fees, milestone payments, and future royalties on co-developed assets, with revenue figures not publicly disclosed. As of late 2024, AIGEN reported 16+ active programs and approximately 11-50 employees, with cumulative funding of roughly ₩16.2B from a 2022 pre-Series A and a 2024 Series A, supplemented by a 2025 round led by Hyosung Ventures. The leadership team combines AI research credibility (Kang, Director of AI Research Sunkyu Kim) with deep pharma R&D experience, including veterans of Hanmi, Dong-A ST, SKbiopharm, and PLATBIO who have contributed to approved or late-stage drugs such as Poziotinib, Olmutinib, and HM71224.

Name

AIGEN Sciences

Legal name

AIGEN Sciences

Website

https://aigensciences.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AIGEN Sciences is a Seoul-based AI drug discovery company founded in 2021 that applies proprietary biomedical LLMs (BioBERT, Meerkat-7B) and multi-omics platforms to compress small-molecule and biologics discovery timelines for pharmaceutical and biotech partners via co-development and licensing agreements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

AI Drug Discovery

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

Bioinformatics & Multi-omics Analysis Software (HLAGAJAD), AI/ML-Enabled Biologic Discovery Platforms (computational design, in silico screening) (HLAAAIAE), Antibody Discovery & Engineering Platforms (display tech, bispecifics, Fc engineering) (HLAAAIAB)

Keywords

• AI drug discovery
• Biomedical AI platform
• Molecular design services
• Multi-omics analysis
• Oncology drug development

Headquarters

HQ city

Seoul

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. AI Platform Licensing and Co-Discovery Services: As a pre-commercial biotech, AIGEN generates revenue through licensing its AI platforms and providing AI-driven drug discovery services to pharmaceutical partners. The company enters co-development agreements where it uses its AI to discover and optimize drug candidates, with partners funding development and sharing revenues upon commercialization.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

AIGEN Sciences applies large-language-model and multi-omics technologies to accelerate small-molecule and biologics drug discovery for pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners. The company offers integrated AI platforms including AIGEN InSight (target discovery using biomedical LLMs and multi-omics data), AIGEN ChemTailor (molecular design with generative AI), and AIGEN Discovery Platform (transcriptome-based compound screening), alongside co-development services that have produced 16+ pipeline programs targeting cancer pathways.

Product overview

AIGEN Sciences offers an integrated AI-driven drug discovery platform consisting of AIGEN InSight (target discovery using biomedical LLMs and multi-omics data), AIGEN ChemTailor (molecular design with three screening models), and AIGEN Journey (track record showcase). The company has developed proprietary LLMs including BioBERT (7,000+ citations) and Meerkat-7B (first compact LLM to pass USMLE). AIGEN's pipeline includes multiple owned programs targeting SOS1, USP1, PARG, KRAS G12C (ON state), and METTL3 for various cancers, plus partnered ADC programs with Hanmi Pharmaceutical. The platform compresses traditional 2-3 year lead identification timelines to 6 months using generative AI, molecular screening models, and autonomous agent capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• AIGEN InSight AI-driven target discovery platform using specialized biomedical large language models (Agent LLMs) trained on scientific papers, omics data, and drug databases. Integrates multi-dimensional biological data including genomics, proteomics, and transcriptomics with curated public and proprietary databases to identify drug targets, monitor research developments, predict drug effectiveness for specific targets, and identify biomarkers for precision medicine strategies.
• AIGEN ChemTailor Molecular design and drug discovery platform that employs three screening models: Synthon Screening (breaks molecules into buildable units), Diffusion Model (predicts molecular transformations at atomic precision), and Transformer Model (captures molecular context with deep attention). Virtually screens and scores millions of compounds, filtering to select highly potent, synthesizable molecules for testing. Achieves lead identification with just 30 syntheses compared to 300 in traditional R&D.
• AIGEN Discovery Platform Transcriptome data-based AI drug discovery platform that screens compounds from a 3 billion compound library, identifying approximately 10,000 focused library compounds at the cellular level, then optimizing hits into lead candidates using AI analysis based on protein structure and binding affinity. Used in co-development with partners such as Incubic for transcription factor inhibitor anticancer drugs.
• AIGEN AI Platform Integrated AI platform combining AIGEN InSight (target discovery) and AIGEN ChemTailor (drug discovery) with multi-omics data integration. Features Agent LLMs for autonomous drug discovery, compressing traditional 2-3 year timelines to 6 months for lead candidate identification. Used as the foundational technology for AIGEN's co-development partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotech companies.
• AI Drug Discovery Co-Development Services End-to-end AI-driven drug discovery co-development services for pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners. AIGEN applies its AI platforms to discover and optimize drug candidates while partners fund development and share revenues upon commercialization. Services include target identification, hit-to-lead optimization, mechanism of action studies, ADC payload design, and lead optimization for cancer, neurological disorders, and other therapeutic areas.

Quantifiable outcome

• Drug discovery timeline reduced from 2-3 years to 6 months (>70% compression)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability10 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• FLock.iocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 June 2025FLock.io and AIGEN Sciences signed an MoU to integrate federated-learning technology with LLM-powered discovery tools, enabling pharmaceutical and clinical partners in South Korea to train AI models collaboratively without moving or exposing sensitive data. FLock.io's on-chain federated-learning infrastructure connects to AIGEN's discovery engine. Initial proof-of-concept studies scheduled to begin Q3 2025.
• Mepsgen (멥스젠)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 February 2025AIGEN Sciences and Mepsgen signed an MOU to combine AIGEN's AI-based drug discovery platform with Mepsgen's microphysiological system (MPS) technology to reduce bottlenecks in drug development. Plans include validating AI-designed drug candidates using Mepsgen's body-on-chip technology, analyzing initial efficacy and toxicity, and building a new research paradigm that verifies drug safety without animal testing.
• Hanmi PharmaceuticalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024ADC deal with Hanmi working on antibody-drug conjugates and developing dual-payload strategies for cancer treatment using AIGEN's generative AI and molecular design capabilities. AIGEN uses its AI platform to design and synthesize payloads while Hanmi contributes antibody expertise.
• Yuhan CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 January 2023AIGEN and Yuhan Corporation entered a research cooperation contract to elucidate the mechanism of action of Yuhan's anticancer drug candidates using AIGEN's proprietary AI platform. AIGEN applies its transcriptome data-based AI platform to predict mechanisms and identify targets, while Yuhan validates proposed targets and advances differentiated anticancer drug development.
• Nobility Nobility (노벨티노빌리티)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2022AIGEN and Nobility Nobility entered an AI-based ADC co-development agreement. AIGEN applies its AI platform to design and synthesize payloads with high selectivity and apoptosis function. Nobility uses its antibody drug development expertise (PREXISE-D platform) and ADC linker platform (PREXISE-L) to evaluate and design new ADCs. The goal is to develop ADC drugs with higher therapeutic effects and minimized side effects.
• K-Medihub (케이메디허브)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 May 2022K-Medihub (Daegu-Gyeongbuk Advanced Medical Industry Promotion Foundation) and AIGEN signed a joint research MOU for AI-enabled innovative drug development. The collaboration focuses on discovering active substances, optimizing compounds, and developing lead compounds. K-Medihub supports promising early-stage drug development research by small and venture companies through its optimization technology support business.
• Incubic (인큐릭스)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 February 2022AIGEN and Incubic signed a co-development agreement for AI-based transcription factor inhibitor anticancer drugs. AIGEN uses its AIGEN Discovery platform to screen the 3 billion compound library down to ~10,000 focused library compounds, then identifies high-affinity active substances based on protein structure and optimizes them into lead candidates. Incubic validates the identified compounds and advances them to final candidate development.
• Crystal Genomics (크리스탈지노믹스)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 November 2019Korea University Professor Jaewoo Kang's research team and Crystal Genomics signed a joint research contract for AI-based innovative drug R&D. Professor Kang's team used AI to identify two promising substances that can regulate targets with synergy effects with immunooncology drugs, while Crystal Genomics evaluated these substances using its innovative drug discovery platform and optimized active lead compounds into new immunooncology drug candidates.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Insilico Medicine: Hong Kong-based AI drug discovery company combining generative chemistry, target discovery, and clinical development. Directly comparable to AIGEN in offering end-to-end AI-driven small-molecule and biologics discovery with pharma co-development partnerships.
• Recursion Pharmaceuticals: US-based AI-driven drug discovery company using high-throughput biology and machine learning to identify novel therapeutics. Comparable to AIGEN in applying AI/ML across target identification, hit generation, and lead optimization with both partnered and wholly-owned programs.
• Exscientia: UK-based AI drug design company using generative AI to accelerate small-molecule discovery. Directly comparable to AIGEN's ChemTailor platform in combining generative molecular design with human-in-the-loop medicinal chemistry for partnered and owned programs.
• Schrödinger: US-based computational chemistry and AI drug design company combining physics-based simulation with ML. Comparable to AIGEN in offering platform-licensed drug discovery services to pharma plus a wholly-owned pipeline, with similar software-plus-co-development business model.
• Atomwise: US-based AI small-molecule discovery company using convolutional neural networks for structure-based drug design. Comparable to AIGEN in offering AI-driven hit identification and lead optimization through pharma partnerships and owned programs.
• BenevolentAI: UK-based AI drug discovery company using knowledge graphs and ML for target identification and drug repurposing. Comparable to AIGEN in combining biomedical NLP/AI with multi-omics integration for target discovery and partnered drug development.

Emerging players

• XtalPi: Shenzhen-based AI drug discovery company combining quantum physics, AI, and robotics for small-molecule and crystalline drug development. Comparable to AIGEN in offering AI-driven molecular design services to global pharma with an Asia-Pacific commercial base.
• Iambic Therapeutics: US-based AI drug discovery company combining physics-based modeling with neural network potentials for small-molecule design. Comparable to AIGEN in using transformer and diffusion-based architectures for generative molecular design with an owned oncology pipeline.

Regional players

• Standigm: Korea-based AI drug discovery company applying proprietary AI workflows to identify novel targets and generate leads. Most regionally comparable peer to AIGEN, sharing Seoul headquarters and Korean pharma customer base while pursuing an analogous AI drug discovery model.

Broad incumbents

• Isomorphic Labs: Alphabet-owned AI drug discovery company leveraging DeepMind's protein folding and molecular AI capabilities for partnered pharma discovery. Comparable to AIGEN as a broader incumbent competitor with deeper capital, cloud-scale AI infrastructure, and multi-billion-dollar pharma alliances.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aigensciences

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors12 records

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AIGEN Sciences