Rivercell has raised $25 million in seed funding to develop data infrastructure and AI models designed to predict how human cells respond to drugs and genetic changes. The round was led by HV, with participation from HCVC, Alven and Bpifrance Digital Venture.
The Paris-based biotechnology and AI company plans to use the capital to expand its proprietary biological data generation platform, grow its wet laboratory operations in Paris and launch its AI Virtual Cell program.
Rivercell is developing what it describes as a world model of the cell.
The system is intended to predict cellular responses to drugs or genetic changes in silico, potentially reducing the number of physical laboratory experiments required during drug discovery.
Rivercell’s approach begins with generating its own large-scale, multimodal and time-resolved biological datasets specifically for training AI models.
The company is also developing purpose-built laboratory infrastructure for collecting that information at scale, describing the platform as a potential “GPU for the bio data center.”
Rivercell was started in 2025 by CEO Yann Fleureau, who previously co-founded AI diagnostics company Cardiologs, which was acquired by Philips in 2021.
Eric Durand joined as Chief Scientific Officer in 2026. His previous roles include Director of Oncology Data Science at Novartis and Chief Data Science Officer at Owkin.
Rivercell is also supported by scientific advisors including Charlotte Bunne and Fabian Theis.
KEY QUOTES:
“A world model of the cell is the opportunity of the century in medicine. The missing piece is data: how cells change over time and under treatment, seen through multiple lenses and at multiple layers, captured at scale. Building that data engine in Europe is strategic, not only for Rivercell but for the continent’s place in AI and biology.”
Yann Fleureau, Co-Founder and CEO of Rivercell
“AI is already rewriting how we understand the chemistry of life, from protein structure to molecular design. The next frontier is predicting how cells behave, and that requires a full-stack approach that combines a novel platform, automated wet labs, and world models. Yann and Eric bring exactly this combination of expertise, and with its footing in both Paris’s AI ecosystem and Basel’s pharma cluster, Rivercell is uniquely positioned to lead it.”
Maxi Petho-Schramm, Principal at HV
“AI virtual cells will transform how we understand and engineer biology. Rivercell’s ambition to unite large-scale perturbation experiments with AI simulation is why I’m excited to join its Scientific Advisory Board.”
Dr. Charlotte Bunne, Assistant Professor, Artificial Intelligence in Molecular Medicine at EPFL
“Understanding how cells respond to perturbations, over time rather than in snapshots, is one of the big open problems in biology. Rivercell is tackling it at scale, with both the data and the AI models to match. I’m thrilled to join its Scientific Advisory Board.”
Prof. Fabian Theis, Director of the Computational Health Center at Helmholtz Munich, Scientific Director of Helmholtz AI and Professor of Mathematical Modeling of Biological Systems at the Technical University of Munich
