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Valence Discovery
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AI-driven generative chemistry for drug discovery
Valence Discovery
Work Here?
AI-driven generative chemistry for drug discovery
Overview
Valence Discovery uses an AI-driven generative chemistry engine to design novel small-molecule drug candidates and optimize multiple properties. Its platform relies on few-shot learning to build predictive models from limited data and performs multiparameter optimization for potency, selectivity, safety, bioavailability, and synthesizability early in the design process. The firm differentiates itself by focusing on data-scarce targets and integrating collaborations with academia, CROs, and big pharma, and by operating as Recursion’s AI/ML R&D center in Montreal with access to large datasets and wet labs. Its goal is to accelerate and de-risk drug discovery by generating patient-focused therapeutics more efficiently than traditional methods.
About Valence Discovery
Industries
Data & Analytics
AI & Machine Learning
Biotechnology
Healthcare
Company Size
51-200
Company Stage
Acquired
Total Funding
$8.5M
Headquarters
Montreal, Canada
Founded
2018
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- Recursion launched AquaGen in July 2026, showing Valence Labs still ships novel chemistry tools.
- Recursion reported 2026 runway into early 2028 and over $500 million partnership inflows.
- Roche advanced its first AI-derived target in August 2026, validating Recursion’s discovery engine.
What critics are saying
- Recursion cut 20% of staff in June 2025, signaling brutal internal capital discipline.
- Valence’s standalone brand disappeared after the 2023 acquisition, limiting recruiting leverage and customer trust.
- If Recursion’s 2026 pipeline stalls, Montreal research gets subordinated to burn reduction and reprioritization.
What makes Valence Discovery unique
- Valence Labs anchors Montreal deep-learning chemistry inside Recursion’s 60-petabyte biology-and-chemistry platform.
- SynFlowNet constraints improve synthesizability, separating Valence from generative models that ignore wet-lab reality.
- Mila roots and Yoshua Bengio backing still confer credibility with ML talent and pharma buyers.
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Funding
Total Funding
$8.5M
Above
Industry Average
Funded Over
3 Rounds
Company News
Valence Discovery's $8.5 Million in Seed Funding to Scale AI-Based Generative Chemistry Engine & Collaborations with Leading Discovery Organizations
SALT LAKE CITY and TORONTO and MONTRÉAL, May 08, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Recursion (NASDAQ: RXRX), a leading clinical stage TechBio company decoding biology to industrialize drug discovery, today announced it has signed agreements to acquire two companies in the AI-enabled drug discovery space: Cyclica and Valence .“Recursion has pioneered the massive, parallel generation of -omics data with machine learning in order to map and navigate biology to discover new medicines faster. The strategic acquisitions of Cyclica and Valence add industry-leading capabilities in digital chemistry, as well as machine-learning and artificial intelligence, which combined with our large-scale automated wet-laboratories and supercomputing capabilities, enables us to deploy what I believe is the most complete, technology-enabled drug discovery solution in the biopharma industry. We look forward to showing the world proof of the compounding benefit of this full-stack approach through the rapid acceleration of our pipeline and partnerships. Amidst a rapidly accelerating global race for technology talent, these acquisitions cement Recursion as the center of gravity for the best and brightest in ML and AI who want to reimagine how drugs are discovered,” said Chris Gibson, Ph.D., Co-Founder and CEO of Recursion. “I am so excited to welcome the Cyclica and Valence teams to Recursion, especially at such a dynamic moment in history when machine learning and artificial intelligence are creating so much rapid change across every industry.”Cyclica, headquartered in Toronto, has built two highly differentiated products in the digital chemistry space which will be integrated into the RecursionOS. MatchMaker™ is an AI-enabled deep learning engine that predicts the polypharmacology of small molecules as the foundation for small molecule drug discovery
MONTREAL & CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Valence Discovery (“Valence”), a leader in AI-driven drug discovery harnessing the power of computation and fit-for-purpose data generation to design differentiated small molecules, announced today the expansion of its leadership team with the additions of Guillaume Barbe, Ph.D. as Vice President, Head of Drug Discovery, Mike Nolan, Ph.D. as Vice President, Head of Biology, and Brian DeChristopher, Ph.D. as Senior Director, Head of Chemical Sciences. “Following successful partnerships with leading biotech and pharmaceutical companies, we have built strong conviction on the challenges in drug discovery that our AI-based technologies are uniquely suited to address,” said Daniel Cohen, co-founder and CEO at Valence Discovery. “We are thrilled to welcome Guillaume, Mike, and Brian to the team as we deploy our platform to build our pipeline of internal drug discovery programs.”
MONTREAL & CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Valence Discovery (“Valence”), a leader in AI-driven drug discovery harnessing the power of computation and fit-for-purpose data generation to design differentiated small molecules, announced today the expansion of its leadership team with the additions of Guillaume Barbe, Ph.D. as Vice President, Head of Drug Discovery, Mike Nolan, Ph.D. as Vice President, Head of Biology, and Brian DeChristopher, Ph.D. as Senior Director, Head of Chemical Sciences. “Following successful partnerships with leading biotech and pharmaceutical companies, we have built strong conviction on the challenges in drug discovery that our AI-based technologies are uniquely suited to address,” said Daniel Cohen, co-founder and CEO at Valence Discovery. “We are thrilled to welcome Guillaume, Mike, and Brian to the team as we deploy our platform to build our pipeline of internal drug discovery programs.”
Valence Discovery, an AI startup partnering with leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies, using AI and machine learning to support their drug discovery efforts, raised C$10.9 million ($8.5 million USD) in its funding.
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About Valence Discovery
Industries
Data & Analytics
AI & Machine Learning
Biotechnology
Healthcare
Company Size
51-200
Company Stage
Acquired
Total Funding
$8.5M
Headquarters
Montreal, Canada
Founded
2018
There are no jobs for Valence Discovery right now.
Find jobs on Simplify and start your career today