Lila Sciences Raises $235 Million and Achieves Unicorn Status

Biotech startup Lila Sciences has raised $235 million in their Series A funding round and has secured unicorn status. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the startup will now have a valuation of $1.2 billion since launching in 2023. Led by Braidwell LP and Collective Global, with participation from ARK Venture Fund, General Catalyst, and other early backers such as the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the funds will be used to expand their research facilities, referred to as ‘AI science factories’.

Initially backed by Flagship Pioneering, the startup aims to integrate advanced AI with fully autonomous robotic laboratories, called “scientific superintelligence”. This approach is designed to automate and accelerate the entire research process, helping scientists come up with ideas, run experiments, learn from the results, and repeat the cycle much faster than before.

"The next frontier in scientific discovery will come from enabling AI to design and run experiments at an unprecedented scale," said Molly Gibson, President of Future Science at Lila.

At the core of its product is what Lila Sciences refers to as 'AI science factories', a highly automated, AI-guided lab that accelerates the scientific workflow. These labs are designed to do a lot of the heavy lifting. They generate ideas, design and run experiments, analyze the results, and then use what they learn to improve the next round of testing. This cycle happens much faster and on a much bigger scale than traditional science.