Ora Biomedical, Inc.
Ora Biomedical operates WormBot-AI, a high-throughput C. elegans screening platform combining robotics and deep learning to discover longevity therapeutics. It monetizes through crowdsourced Million Molecule Challenge sponsorships, custom research projects, and an open-access lifespan database serving citizen scientists, biotech sponsors, and academic researchers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersSeattle, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Ora Biomedical, Inc. does
Ora Biomedical, Inc. is a Seattle-based longevity biotechnology company developing gerotherapeutics — small molecules and peptides that target the molecular biology of aging — using a proprietary high-throughput screening platform. The company's core technology, WormBot-AI, combines robotics, computer vision, and deep learning to automate lifespan and healthspan analysis in live Caenorhabditis elegans, claiming throughput approximately three orders of magnitude greater than conventional animal screening methods. Underpinning the platform is the Million Molecule Challenge (MMC), a crowdsourced initiative that aims to screen one million longevity interventions over five years while building an open-access database of per-worm survival data, Kaplan-Meier curves, and dose-response statistics.
The business model is hybrid. Direct-to-consumer sponsorships are sold through orabiomedical.com at $100 per single-compound intervention (with higher prices for combinations and custom experiments), targeting citizen scientists, biotech sponsors, and academic researchers. Larger dedicated research projects — such as the 601-compound mTOR modulator screen in collaboration with Rapamycin Longevity Labs — generate higher-value contract revenue. A fiscal-sponsor partnership with Lifespan.io enables tax-deductible donations and expands reach into the longevity advocacy community. Strategic positioning emphasizes the company's published claim that pilot screens have already identified mTOR modulators outperforming rapamycin, with a stated long-term objective of progressing hits through cell-culture and small-mammal validation toward FDA-approved therapeutics for age-related disease.
The founding team comprises Ben Blue (CEO), Brian Kennedy, Matt Kaeberlein (Board Chair), Mitchell Lee, and Jason Pitt (WormBot inventor), drawn primarily from the University of Washington longevity research ecosystem. Advisory bench includes commercial biotech operators Ryan Dittamore and Jesse Horwitz. Capitalization is thin: total disclosed equity raised is approximately $965K across a May 2022 round ($245K) and a January 2024 SEC Form D offering ($720K sold of $1,020,000), with the SEC filing indicating proceeds are intended to fund less than one year of operations. The company employs 1–10 people and is privately held.
Ora Biomedical, Inc. firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Ora Biomedical, Inc.
- Legal name
- Ora Biomedical, Inc.
- Website
- https://orabiomedical.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Ora Biomedical operates WormBot-AI, a high-throughput C. elegans screening platform combining robotics and deep learning to discover longevity therapeutics. It monetizes through crowdsourced Million Molecule Challenge sponsorships, custom research projects, and an open-access lifespan database serving citizen scientists, biotech sponsors, and academic researchers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Ora Biomedical, Inc. industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Longevity Drug Discovery & Screening Services
- NAICS
- Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)
- 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), Scientific Data Management & Data Platforms (SDMS/Data Lakehouse for R&D) (HLAGAJAC)
Keywords
Where Ora Biomedical, Inc. is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seattle
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Ora Biomedical, Inc. business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Million Molecule Challenge Sponsorships: Individuals and organizations sponsor individual compound screenings at $100 per intervention. Sponsors can choose specific FDA-approved compounds, combinations, or use the random intervention machine. Data is co-owned by sponsor and Ora Biomedical, with option to deposit into open-access database.
- Custom Combinatorial Experiments: Higher-cost custom experiments for 3+ intervention combinations, entire targeted libraries, or work outside the standard MMC scope. Pricing varies based on complexity and compound sourcing requirements.
- Equity Financing (SEC Form D): The company raised $720,000 of a $1,020,000 securities offering under SEC Rule 506(b), intended to fund operations for less than one year.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Single compound intervention sponsorship |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Double compound combination screening |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Random intervention sponsorship |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Custom combinatorial experiments (3+ interventions) |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Ora Biomedical, Inc. product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Ora Biomedical operates the WormBot-AI platform, a proprietary high-throughput drug screening system combining robotics, computer vision, and deep learning to automate lifespan, healthspan, behavioral, and mobility analysis in live Caenorhabditis elegans worms. The company monetizes this discovery engine primarily through the Million Molecule Challenge (MMC), a crowdsourced screening program where sponsors fund individual compound or combinatorial experiments at $100 per intervention, with results deposited into an open-access lifespan database. Ora Biomedical is also advancing preclinical longevity therapeutics (gerotherapeutics) targeting the molecular biology of aging.
Product overview
Ora Biomedical, Inc. is a longevity medicine company offering a unified platform combining the WormBot-AI discovery engine with the Million Molecule Challenge (MMC) crowdsourced screening service. The core offering consists of the WormBot-AI high-throughput robotics platform that combines robotics, computer vision, and deep learning for automated lifespan and healthspan analysis in C. elegans. The MMC enables sponsors to fund screening of specific or random compounds at $100 per intervention, with results deposited into the open-access MMC Database. The company also conducts proprietary research initiatives such as the mTOR Screening Project, all aimed at developing novel gerotherapeutics that target the molecular biology of aging to prevent and treat age-related disease.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Million Molecule Challenge (MMC): Crowdsourced lifespan screening initiative where researchers, biotech sponsors, and citizen scientists can propose compounds to be tested on Ora's WormBot platform. The program aims to assess 1,000,000 longevity interventions in 5 years.
- WormBot-AI
Products and services
- WormBot-AI Platform High-throughput robotics platform combined with neural net AI that performs fully automated health and survival analysis in live Caenorhabditis elegans for drug discovery. Combines robotics, computer vision, and deep learning to run drug screening in live animals at a scale and speed unmatched by traditional methods, tracking hundreds of individual animals per trial with matched solvent-only controls.
- Million Molecule Challenge (MMC) Crowdsourced drug discovery initiative to assess 1,000,000 longevity interventions in 5 years using the WormBot-AI platform. Sponsors select single compounds, two-way combinations, or use a random intervention machine to fund screening experiments at $100 per intervention, with results co-owned by sponsor and Ora Biomedical and (by default) deposited into the open-access MMC Database.
- MMC Database Open-access community-screened Caenorhabditis elegans lifespan database containing ranked compounds with Kaplan-Meier survival curves, per-worm death events, dose information, sponsor details, and statistical analyses (p-values, effect sizes) from 770+ unique compounds, 56,000+ worm-level death events, and 96+ independent screening flights.
- Custom Combinatorial Experiments Higher-cost custom screening services for 3+ intervention combinations, full custom libraries, or experimental work outside the standard MMC scope, priced based on complexity and compound sourcing requirements. Available via the MMC Shop and intended for biotech sponsors and research institutions needing bespoke experimental designs.
- Longevity Therapeutics (Gerotherapeutics) Pipeline of novel small molecule gerotherapeutics discovered via the WormBot-AI platform and validated in cell culture and small mammal models, targeted at preventing and treating age-related disease through intervention in the molecular biology of aging.
Quantifiable outcome
- Pilot mTOR screen identified at least one compound outperforming rapamycin in lifespan extension
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Ora Biomedical, Inc.
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Ora Biomedical, Inc. technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability7 records
Feature4 records
Ora Biomedical, Inc. partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Lifespan.iocoreOra Biomedical partners with Lifespan.io as the fiscal sponsor of the Million Molecule Challenge. Lifespan.io is a nonprofit advocacy foundation advancing longevity science. This partnership allows MMC sponsorships to be made as tax-deductible donations through Lifespan.io's platform, expanding Ora's reach into the nonprofit charitable giving community. Lifespan.io directs funds toward MMC research and provides promotional support as a leading voice in the longevity advocacy space.
- Rapamycin Longevity LabscorePartnership to conduct the largest-ever lifespan analysis of 601 mTOR modulators. The joint project aims to identify compounds more potent than rapamycin in extending lifespan. Rapamycin Longevity Labs provides funding and scientific expertise, while Ora Biomedical contributes its WormBot-AI screening platform. This collaboration represents Ora's first major strategic partnership for targeted therapeutic discovery.
- National University of Singapore (NUS)coreCo-founder Brian Kennedy serves as Distinguished Professor and Director of the Centre for Healthy Longevity at NUS. Co-founder Ben Blue featured on NUS Healthy Longevity lecture series. This academic partnership provides access to clinical trial design expertise and positions Ora for potential human or companion animal trials based on Dog Aging Project TRIAD insights.
- Dog Aging ProjectminorOra Biomedical references the Dog Aging Project TRIAD trial as a model for designing their own clinical trials. The company plans to pursue clinical trials in humans or companion animals based on worm-to-mammal validation pathways, drawing on insights from the Dog Aging Project's regulatory and endpoint design approach.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Ora Biomedical, Inc. competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Atomwise: AI-driven small molecule drug discovery company using deep learning for hit identification. Directly comparable to Ora's AI/ML platform approach for novel therapeutic discovery, with similar partnership-driven business model.
- Recursion Pharmaceuticals: AI-driven phenotypic drug discovery platform combining high-throughput biology with machine learning. Directly comparable to Ora's WormBot-AI model of automation + AI to scale phenotypic screening, though Recursion operates in cell-based assays rather than C. elegans.
- Insilico Medicine: AI/ML drug discovery company with an explicit focus on aging and longevity therapeutics. Closest competitor by combining generative AI with biological validation — overlaps Ora's mission of computationally discovering novel longevity interventions.
- Insitro: Machine learning-driven drug discovery company using high-throughput biology and predictive models. Comparable to Ora in fusing automation with AI to scale preclinical drug discovery, though focused on human cell-based disease models.
- BioAge Labs: Clinical-stage longevity therapeutics company developing small molecules that target the molecular biology of aging. Comparable to Ora's gerotherapeutic ambition and overlapping on aging-biology targets, but at a far more advanced clinical stage.
Broad incumbents
- Schrödinger, Inc. Established computational chemistry and drug design platform serving pharma clients. Comparable to Ora's AI-driven discovery approach but operating at a much larger scale and across multiple therapeutic areas beyond aging.
- Altos Labs: Well-capitalized longevity biotech ($3B+ raised) pursuing cellular reprogramming for age-related disease. Comparable to Ora in longevity therapeutic mission but operates with vastly greater resources and a different core technology platform.
- Calico Life Sciences: Alphabet-backed longevity research company pursuing the biology of aging. Comparable to Ora as a longevity-focused R&D organization with deep resources, though Calico's research breadth and capital dwarf Ora's.
Emerging players
- Loyal for Dogs: Companion-animal longevity therapeutics company developing rapamycin-based interventions for dogs. Comparable to Ora via the rapamycin/mTOR axis and shared reference to the Dog Aging Project, though focused on canine rather than worm-to-human translation.
- Gero: AI-driven longevity biotech using machine learning on human datasets to identify aging therapeutics. Comparable to Ora in combining AI with aging-biology focus, though Gero works from human data rather than C. elegans screens.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Ora Biomedical, Inc. social profiles
Digital presenceOra Biomedical, Inc. financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Ora Biomedical, Inc. leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Ora Biomedical, Inc. funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors
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Ora Biomedical, Inc. 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 Ora Biomedical, Inc.
What does Ora Biomedical, Inc. do?
Ora Biomedical operates the WormBot-AI platform, a proprietary high-throughput drug screening system combining robotics, computer vision, and deep learning to automate lifespan, healthspan, behavioral, and mobility analysis in live Caenorhabditis elegans worms. The company monetizes this discovery engine primarily through the Million Molecule Challenge (MMC), a crowdsourced screening program where sponsors fund individual compound or combinatorial experiments at $100 per intervention, with results deposited into an open-access lifespan database. Ora Biomedical is also advancing preclinical longevity therapeutics (gerotherapeutics) targeting the molecular biology of aging.
Is Ora Biomedical, Inc. a public or private company?
Ora Biomedical, Inc. is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Ora Biomedical, Inc. founded?
Ora Biomedical, Inc. was founded in 2021. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Ora Biomedical, Inc. based?
Ora Biomedical, Inc. is headquartered in Seattle, United States, in the North America region.
How does Ora Biomedical, Inc. make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Million Molecule Challenge Sponsorships are the primary driver. The others are custom Combinatorial Experiments and equity Financing (SEC Form D).
Who are Ora Biomedical, Inc.'s main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Atomwise, Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Insilico Medicine, Insitro and BioAge Labs. Broad incumbents are Schrödinger, Inc., Altos Labs and Calico Life Sciences. Emerging players are Loyal for Dogs and Gero.
Does Ora Biomedical, Inc. have an API?
No public API is recorded for Ora Biomedical, Inc..
What industry is Ora Biomedical, Inc. in?
Ora Biomedical, Inc.'s product category is Longevity Drug Discovery & Screening Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAJAO, AI/ML Platforms for Drug Discovery & Experiment Optimization, with a secondary code of HLAGAJAD, Bioinformatics & Multi-omics Analysis Software. Its NAICS code is 541714 and its SIC code is 8731.