Feb 26, 2024 - Business

Startup uses AI to develop vaccines for future pandemics

Dan Primack

Illustration of a dollar sign made of syringes. — Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios

Baseimmune, a British startup that uses AI to develop vaccines for future pathogen mutations, raised £9 million in venture capital funding.

Why it matters: Lots of the AI chatter right now is "what comes after chatbots," and the most likely (and consequential) answers are in biotech.

This funding also comes amidst a U.K. government challenge tied to vaccine development for future pandemics.

Details: MSD Global Health Innovation Fund and IQ Capital co-led the Series A round for Baseimmune, and were joined by Hoxton Ventures, Creator Fund, Beast Ventures, and Maki.vc.

The big picture, per the FT: "Investment in AI-boosted vaccine development has grown since the Covid-19 pandemic, as has interest in the idea of adaptable jabs that can be quickly updated to deal with new virus mutations."

Go deeper: AI tool forecasts new COVID variants

Add Axios on Google

Startup uses AI to develop vaccines for future pandemics

What to read next