InstaDeep raised US$7 million in Series A funding in May 2019, but its Series B funding indicates tremendous growth since then, with the startup securing US$100 million in a round led by Alpha Intelligence Capital and CDIB. BioNTech, Chimera Abu Dhabi, Deutsche Bahn’s DB Digital Ventures, Google, G42, and Synergie are among the other investors in the round. InstaDeep will use the funds to expand its high-performance computing infrastructure optimised for Decision-Making AI, employ top talent, and create revolutionary AI products in a variety of industries, including biotech, logistics, transportation, and electronics manufacturing. In addition, the company plans to expand its global footprint into the United States (US). “This funding round is a tremendous vote of confidence from our partners BioNTech, Google and Deutsche Bahn after working closely with us on innovative, high-impact AI initiatives,” said Karim Beguir, co-founder and CEO of InstaDeep. “And we are very excited to get the support of Alpha Intelligence Capital, Chimera, Synergie and G42 as we see wide-ranging opportunities to deploy our AI products to tackle complex real-world problems.” InstaDeep and BioNTech formed a multi-year strategic collaboration in 2020 to launch a joint AI innovation lab to deploy the latest advances in AI and machine learning to develop novel immunotherapies. The company collaborates with Google on AI initiatives and has published joint research with DeepMind and Google Research. It is also working on a moonshot product to automate railway scheduling with Deutsche Bahn, the largest rail operator and infrastructure owner in Europe. “InstaDeep has demonstrated unique capabilities in solving very complex railway problems using groundbreaking AI-first technologies. The team’s skills and thought leadership in this space have paved the way for the adoption of cutting-edge AI technologies in the railway domain. We are happy to join the investment round and enable a stronger partnership with Deutsche Bahn to jointly harness the potential of applying AI,” said Boris Kuehn, managing director, DB Digital Ventures. Arnaud Barthelemy, partner and COO of Alpha Intelligence Capital, said he was proud to lead the round. “InstaDeep is a deep technology company that disrupts traditional approaches in crucial areas as they do with BioNTech for drug discovery or with Deutsche Bahn for railway scheduling. We are thrilled to join this exciting adventure and eager to help support InstaDeep’s growth through our unique AI expertise,” he said.
