Terray Therapeutics, a pioneering biotechnology firm focused on revolutionizing the development of small molecule drugs through advanced computational methods, has successfully closed an oversubscribed Series B funding round, raising $120 million. This latest financing effort will enable the company to propel its internal drug development programs into clinical trials and further enhance its innovative AI platform, tNova.

The Series B round was spearheaded by Bedford Ridge Capital, alongside participation from existing investor NVentures, which is affiliated with NVIDIA. The funding round also attracted a variety of new and existing investors, including Maverick Capital, Goldcrest Capital, Madrona Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures, XTX Ventures, Digitalis Ventures, and Alexandria Ventures. As part of the investment, Sid Shenai, who collaborated with Bedford Ridge Capital on this deal, will join Terray's Board of Directors.

Dr. Jacob Berlin, co-founder and CEO of Terray Therapeutics, expressed enthusiasm about the funding's potential to advance new therapeutics for patients. He noted the rapid advancements in understanding human diseases during the 'omics' era, emphasizing that the ability to discover and develop effective treatments has not kept pace. "Terray’s AI, trained on rapidly iterating, precise data generated at unprecedented scale in our labs, will dramatically improve the success rate of small molecule development and bring relief to patients," he stated.

A Leader in Generative AI and Data Generation

Terray Therapeutics has made significant strides in the field of drug discovery, establishing the world’s largest chemistry dataset through its proprietary experimental platform. Over the past three years, the company has quantitatively measured over 5 billion target-ligand interactions, approximately 50 times the volume of all publicly available chemistry data. This dataset continues to double in size annually, providing a unique data advantage that enhances the company’s capabilities in AI-driven drug design.

The firm’s expertise is being applied to its internal pipeline, which focuses on treating immunological diseases, as well as addressing challenging targets in collaboration with industry leaders such as Bristol Myers Squibb and Calico.

Kimberly Powell, vice president of healthcare at NVIDIA, praised Terray's data generation capabilities, highlighting their role in enabling continuous advanced generative AI development. "Rapid experiments combined with advanced AI create a molecule discovery and design flywheel able to tackle the most challenging targets yet to be discovered," she remarked.

Since its inception, and particularly following its Series A funding round in 2021, Terray has established itself as a leader in generative AI-driven small molecule drug design.

Significant Achievements and Strategic Growth

The recent Series B funding builds upon several notable achievements that position Terray for future success. The company has swiftly progressed multiple internal immunology programs toward clinical trials, leveraging AI-driven optimization of chemistry starting points discovered through innovative experimentation. Additionally, Terray has secured multi-target partnership agreements with Bristol Myers Squibb and Calico, focusing on addressing complex diseases.

Terray also boasts an industry-leading chemistry foundation model, COATI, and has introduced latent diffusion machine learning to small molecule design—an unprecedented advancement in the field. These AI tools are utilized daily by Terray's medicinal chemists to navigate the extensive chemical landscape with enhanced efficiency.

To bolster its leadership team, Terray has made key appointments, including Feroze (Fez) Ujjainwalla as Chief Business Officer and Anna Goranson as Chief People Officer. The company has also expanded its Board of Directors, adding prominent figures such as John Maraganore, the founding CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, and Bassil Dahiyat, founding CEO of Xencor.

Terray Therapeutics’ recent $120 million Series B funding is a testament to its innovative approach and robust data capabilities in small molecule drug development. With this financial backing, the company is poised to accelerate the clinical advancement of its therapeutic programs while expanding its AI platform, tNova. As Terray continues to pioneer advancements in drug discovery, it stands to make significant contributions to improving patient outcomes in the healthcare sector.