Vilya

Vilya

Computational drug design for novel medicines

Overview

Vilya uses a computational biotechnology platform, built on research from the Institute of Protein Design, to create a new class of medicines. It designs drug candidates with advanced computer methods that model proteins and other biological targets, aiming to precisely influence disease biology. The company advances its own therapeutic pipeline and/or partners with pharmaceutical companies to bring these candidates to patients. What sets Vilya apart is its focus on computational drug design and protein design to rapidly generate novel medicines that target disease at the molecular level, rather than relying solely on traditional lab discovery. The main goal is to expand the set of medicines available by developing and deploying computationally designed therapeutics across multiple disease areas.

About Vilya

Simplify's Rating
Why Vilya is rated
B-
Rated B on Competitive Edge
Rated B on Growth Potential
Rated C on Differentiation

Industries

Data & Analytics

AI & Machine Learning

Biotechnology

Healthcare

Company Size

11-50

Company Stage

Series A

Total Funding

$71M

Headquarters

Seattle, Washington

Founded

2022

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Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • The July 2026 Vilya-1 paper shows materially better ring reconstruction across benchmarks.
  • Vilya careers pages and January 2026 internship postings signal active hiring, not retrenchment.
  • ARCH-led $71 million capital still funds longer experiments and later partnering leverage.

What critics are saying

  • No clinical asset reached humans by August 2026; platform value remains unproven.
  • Schrödinger, Xaira, and Recursion intensify AI-drug discovery competition for talent and partners.
  • If Vilya-1 stalls, Vilya becomes another research-platform startup with no durable moat.

What makes Vilya unique

  • Vilya-1, updated July 2026, targets macrocycles with all-atom design and prediction.
  • Founded from Institute for Protein Design science, Vilya attacks membrane-permeable macrocycle drug design.
  • Seattle team combines computational biology, synthetic chemistry, and machine learning under Cyrus Harmon.

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Funding

Total Funding

$71M

Above

Industry Average

Funded Over

2 Rounds

Notable Investors:
Series A funding typically happens when a startup has a product and some customers, and now needs funding to scale. This money is usually used to grow the team, expand marketing, and improve the product. Venture capital firms are frequently the main investors here.
Series A Funding Comparison
Above Average

Industry standards

$15M
$8.2M
Discord
$15M
Canva
$21M
Vilya
$30M
Kalshi

Benefits

Health Insurance

Dental Insurance

Vision Insurance

401(k) Retirement Plan

401(k) Company Match

Stock Options

Unlimited Paid Time Off

Phone/Internet Stipend

Wellness Program

Commuter Benefits

Conference Attendance Budget

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

-6%

1 year growth

-6%

2 year growth

-2%
GeekWire
Jul 11th, 2024
Who’S Raising? The Top Funding Deals For Pacific Northwest Startups In Q2

Data from GeekWire’s fundings list.Tech startups spanning biotech, agriculture, healthcare, autonomous vehicles, and other industries reeled in the largest funding rounds during the second quarter this year across the Pacific Northwest.Total venture capital raised in Q2 came in at $382 million across 34 deals, according to GeekWire’s funding tracker. That dollar value is just below the previous quarter; down nearly 50% from the year-ago period; and not even in the same hemisphere as the second quarter of 2022, when 63 companies raised a collective $2.1 billion.It’s a new world for startups. The era of growth-at-all-costs and plentiful venture capital dollars are long gone, following record-breaking boom times just a few years ago.As we wrote last month, “default alive” is the mindset for many companies under pressure from investors to demonstrate a path to profitability. Investors are focused on “supporting their most promising companies to maturity amid a historically challenging exit environment,” said Bobby Franklin, CEO of the National Venture Capital Association, in a new PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor released Thursday. “This has meant more inside and continuation rounds with valuations under unprecedented levels of scrutiny.”(Image via CBInsights)But many investors have cash they need to invest, and some startups are still raising.AI startups are gobbling a big chunk of funding these days, raising nearly a third of all dollars during the second quarter, according to CBInsights.That trend is reflected in the Pacific Northwest, where several of the top rounds in Q2 went to startups focused heavily on AI technologies. The Seattle region didn’t crack the top 10 among metropolitan areas ranked by total funding raised in Q2, according to PitchBook

FinSMEs
Jun 5th, 2024
Vilya Expands Series A Financing to $71M

Concurrent with this financing, Menlo Ventures' Partner Greg Yap joined the Vilya board.

Benzinga
Jun 4th, 2024
Vilya Secures $71M for Drug Design

Vilya, a biotechnology company, announced an expanded $71 million Series A financing to advance its computational drug design platform and develop novel macrocycles. The funding, led by ARCH Venture Partners and joined by NVentures, Menlo Ventures, Madrona, Lifeforce Capital, and Altitude Life Science Ventures, will enhance Vilya's generative AI platform and accelerate the development of clinical candidates. CEO Cyrus Harmon highlighted the support's role in broadening design and synthesis capabilities.

GeekWire
Oct 18th, 2023
Tech Moves: Gates Foundation Exec Joins Icertis Board; Costco Ceo To Step Down

Tech Moves covers notable hires, promotions and personnel changes in the Pacific NW tech community. Submissions: [email protected] Golston, president of the U.S. Program for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (Icertis Photo).— Allan Golston joined the board of directors at Bellevue, Wash.-based contract lifecycle management company Icertis. He has served as the president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for more than 17 years. Golston also sits on the board of Stryker Corporation and Harley-Davidson.— Costco announced Wednesday that CEO Craig Jelinek will step down

Yahoo Finance
Oct 17th, 2023
Vilya Appoints Cyrus Harmon, Ph.D., as Chief Executive Officer

Vilya appoints Cyrus Harmon, Ph.D., as Chief Executive Officer.

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