Proxima, the AI-native biotech company developing drug discovery tools and therapeutics for proximity-based medicines, has raised an oversubscribed $80 million seed round and rebranded from VantAI as it sharpens its focus on proximity therapeutics. The financing was led by DCVC, with participation from NVentures (NVIDIA’s venture capital arm), Braidwell, Roivant, AIX Ventures, Yosemite, Magnetic Ventures, Alexandria Venture Investments, Modi Ventures, and other strategic and institutional backers. As part of the round, DCVC General Partner Jason Pontin will join Proxima’s board.
Proxima is positioning proximity-based medicines as a major expansion of how small-molecule drugs can work. Rather than only inhibiting or activating a single protein target, proximity therapeutics aim to control how proteins interact with one another—altering protein-protein interactions to produce new biological outcomes. The company described the approach as encompassing established modalities such as molecular glues and PROTACs, and extending into emerging proximity-driven mechanisms that could broaden what is considered “druggable.”
The company says a central constraint in the field has been limited structural understanding of protein complexes. While protein-protein interactions drive most biological processes, Proxima argues that only a small fraction of these interactions have been structurally characterized, leaving much of the human interactome largely unmapped. Proxima’s thesis is that systematically generating structural data at scale—and pairing it with AI models built for these data types—can enable more reliable design of proximity-modulating molecules, including for targets that have historically been out of reach.
Proxima said the new capital will be used to accelerate development of first-in-class proximity-modulating therapeutics and to expand the company’s capabilities across oncology, immunology, and additional disease areas. The company also framed the funding as support for building the technology and data layers required to generalize rational design for proximity-based medicines, not only for today’s best-known modalities but for new waves that may follow.
At the core of the platform is NeoLink, Proxima’s data-generation technology designed to produce structural information about protein complexes at proteome-wide scale. That data layer is paired with the company’s Neo AI model series, which Proxima said is intended to enable end-to-end discovery and development of proximity-modulating small molecules. The company’s stated goal is to improve safety, shorten timelines, and unlock new mechanisms by allowing researchers to intentionally induce, modulate, or block protein interfaces.
In parallel with its internal pipeline, Proxima emphasized its partner-facing business, saying it has secured multibillion-dollar research collaborations with major biopharmaceutical companies including Johnson & Johnson, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Blueprint Medicines, which has been acquired by Sanofi. Proxima said multiple co-developed programs are progressing toward the clinic, with the first expected to enter clinical trials in 2026.
The rebrand to Proxima is intended to underscore what the company describes as its “singular focus” on proximity therapeutics and the infrastructure required to scale them. By building a structural proteomics foundation and training frontier AI systems around protein complex data, Proxima is aiming to make proximity-based medicines more broadly accessible—moving them from bespoke successes to a repeatable discovery and development paradigm.
KEY QUOTES:
“Proximity-based medicines represent one of the most powerful new ways to treat disease, but progress has been constrained by a lack of structural data and accurate design tools. By combining proteome-scale structural data with frontier AI models, we’re building the foundation needed to make these therapies broadly accessible rather than rare exceptions.”
Zachary Carpenter, Co-Founder and CEO, Proxima
“Proximity-based therapeutics represent one of most promising frontiers in modern drug discovery with the potential to treat previously intractable diseases and target ‘undruggable’ proteins. Proxima’s technology combines proteome-scale structural data with state-of-the-art generative AI foundation models, and the company’s team is uniquely well-positioned to discover and develop a new class of medicines.”
Jason Pontin, General Partner, DCVC
