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Anew Labs, a Shanghai-based AI drug discovery company that was spun off from ByteDance, has raised $290 million at a valuation of $1.5 billion. Major investors include HSG (formerly Sequoia China), IDG Capital, and 5Y Capital, while ByteDance retains a 56% stake in the firm. Anew Labs specializes in AI models for predicting and designing biomolecular structures, including its own foundation model AnewFold and an open-source version of Google DeepMind’s AlphaFold 3 called Protenix.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-18,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Anew Labs, a Shanghai-based artificial intelligence drug discovery firm formerly part of Chinese tech giant ByteDance, has raised US$290 million at an estimated valuation of US$1.5 billion. Investors in the round include major venture capital firms like HSG (formerly Sequoia China), IDG Capital, and 5Y Capital. The fundraising effort reflects a broader trend in China where AI-driven drug development start-ups are attracting significant investment as they compete with international players such as Anthropic and Isomorphic Labs. Anew Labs specializes in creating various AI models for predicting and designing biomolecular structures, including its own foundation model called AnewFold and an open-source version of AlphaFold 3 from Google DeepMind.
Written for “AI Drug Development Funding Boom” on 2026-09-18,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
ByteDance spin-off Anew Labs raises US$290m as AI drug developers enjoy fundraising boom
As AI’s role in drug design advances rapidly, Chinese start-ups are ramping up fundraising efforts
China is seeing a fresh fundraising boom for AI drug developers, with start-ups including a ByteDance spin-off raising hundreds of millions of dollars this week as investors rush to back domestic challengers to Anthropic and Isomorphic Labs.
asserted
investors → raise → Anthropic
Anew Labs, a Shanghai-based AI drug discovery firm that was formerly a unit of Chinese tech giant ByteDance, has raised US$290 million at a valuation of US$1.5 billion, according to an informed source.
uncertain
that → base → source
Investors included prominent venture capital firms such as HSG – formerly Sequoia China – IDG Capital and 5Y Capital, the source said, with ByteDance maintaining a 56 per cent stake.
asserted
ByteDance → include → stake
Anew Labs, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment, operates a range of artificial intelligence models for biomolecular structure prediction and design.
asserted
which → respond → prediction
They include AnewFold, its in-house foundation model, and Protenix, an open-source reproduction of AlphaFold 3, the most advanced biomolecular prediction AI model from Google DeepMind and its Isomorphic Labs spin-off.
asserted
They → include → DeepMind
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