Insitro — Startup Profile
Machine learning-enabled drug discovery and development platform combining high-throughput biology with AI
HQ: South San Francisco, CA | Founded: 2018 | Employees: ~230 | Stage: Series C | Website: https://www.insitro.com
About
Insitro is a biotechnology company that uses machine learning and large-scale biological data to discover and develop new medicines. Founded in 2018 by Daphne Koller, the company has built an integrated platform combining automated high-content laboratory experiments with proprietary ML models to decode human biology, identify therapeutic targets, and advance drug candidates. Insitro's platform suite includes CellML (disease modeling), ClinML (clinical translation), TherML (therapeutic candidate identification), and POSH (pooled CRISPR screening with self-supervised deep learning). The company operates partnerships with Bristol Myers Squibb (ALS and broader therapeutic programs) and Eli Lilly (small molecule drug discovery), while also building an internal pipeline focused on metabolic disease and neuroscience. Headquartered in South San Francisco, Insitro employs approximately 230 people as of mid-2025 following a strategic restructuring.
The Take
Insitro remains one of the best-capitalized AI-native drug discovery companies, with over $643M raised and major pharma partnerships with BMS and Lilly. The company's integrated approach — combining automated wet-lab biology with ML platforms like POSH and ChemML — differentiates it from competitors that rely solely on computational methods. A May 2025 workforce reduction of 22% (to ~230 employees) was a strategic move to extend runway into 2027 and sharpen focus on metabolic disease and neuroscience programs. Recent milestones include validation of the POSH platform in Nature Communications (2025), a new collaboration with Eli Lilly (September 2025), and completion of the first AI-enabled human genetics study of brown adipose tissue (January 2026).
Key Metrics
- Total Funding: $643M+
- Latest Round: Series C — $400M (Mar 2021)
- Headcount: ~230
- Founded: 2018
- Est. Runway: Into 2027
- Key Partners: BMS, Eli Lilly
Funding Rounds
- Round: Undisclosed (2019-07-22) — Multiple
- Round: $70M (2020-10-28) — Bristol Myers Squibb
- Round: $400M (2021-03-15) — Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Temasek, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
Key People
Key Competitors
- Exscientia —
- Recursion Pharmaceuticals —
- Relay Therapeutics —
- BenevolentAI —
Timeline Highlights
- 2026-01-01: Compute Org Restructuring
- 2026-02-02: Chief People Officer Appointed
- 2026-01-12: Brown Adipose Tissue Study Completed
- 2025-01-01: POSH Platform Validated in Nature Communications
- 2025-09-09: BMS Collaboration Extended (ChemML)
- 2025-09-08: Eli Lilly Partnership
- 2025-05-07: Workforce Restructuring
- 2024-01-01: BMS Collaboration Further Expanded
- 2023-06-01: BMS Collaboration Expanded
- 2021-03-15: Series C Funding
- 2020-10-28: BMS Partnership
- 2018-01-01: Company Founded
Recent News
- Insitro Completes First AI-Enabled Human Genetics Study of Brown Adipose Tissue, Shares Differentiated Targets with Anti-Obesity Effects (2026-01-12)
- Insitro Appoints Joe Hand as Chief People Officer to Advance Talent Strategy for Next Stage of Development (2026-02-02)
- Insitro Partners with Lilly to Build First-in-Kind Machine Learning Models to Advance Small Molecule Drug Discovery (2025-09-08)
- Insitro Extends Research Collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb Leveraging Insitro's ChemML Discovery Platform (2025-09-09)
- Insitro Validates AI-Enabled POSH Platform in Nature Communications, Bridging Critical Gap in Drug Discovery (2025-01-01)
- Insitro Cuts 22% of Workforce, Extending Runway Into 2027 (2025-05-07)
Similar Startups
- Solugen — Bio-based chemical manufacturing via a modular enzymatic platform
- Benchling — Unified R&D Cloud for life sciences
- Altos Labs — Cellular rejuvenation programming to reverse disease and transform medicine
- Colossal Biosciences — De-extinction and genetic engineering company resurrecting extinct species
- eGenesis — Genome engineering for human-compatible organ transplants
More Biotech Startups
- Altos Labs — Cellular rejuvenation programming to reverse disease and transform medicine
- Vilya — Computational biotech platform designing novel molecular structures to target disease biology
- Colossal Biosciences — De-extinction and genetic engineering company resurrecting extinct species
- eGenesis — Genome engineering for human-compatible organ transplants
- Mammoth Biosciences — CRISPR platform company developing diagnostics and therapeutics
Browse: Home | Blog | About | All Startups A-Z | View full profile on StartupWiki