Somite, a company aiming to become the OpenAI of stem cell biology, announced that it had raised $5.3 million in pre-seed funding. This funding round was led by TechAviv and joined by Next Coast Ventures, Trust Ventures, Texas Venture Partners, Lerer Hippeau, and others. The funding will be used to continue developing Somite’s proprietary AlphaStem AI platform, build Somite labs, and bring the first therapeutic asset to Phase 1 clinical trials.
Launched in October 2023, Somite is building AI foundation models to produce human tissue at scale for cell therapies. These therapies can potentially cure various diseases that involve the loss or deficiency of cell populations, like diabetes, obesity, and muscular dystrophy.
This founding team comprises five distinguished experts in their respective fields: Dr. Micha Breakstone (a seasoned AI entrepreneur who successfully sold Chorus.ai for $575 million) serves as the CEO. Joining him are the CTO Dr. Jonathan Rosenfeld (who pioneered AI scaling laws at MIT), along with scientists Dr. Olivier Pourquie, Dr. Allon Klein, and Dr. Cliff Tabin, who have expertise in developmental biology, stem cells, and computational biology.
Cell therapy, a transformative approach to treating medical conditions, involves replacing missing, damaged, or diseased cells. And while recent strides in stem cell research have opened new avenues for producing various human cell types, challenges persist regarding efficiency, scalability, and robustness across existing protocols.
Somite.ai produces cells derived from somites, crucial embryonic structures that give rise to musculoskeletal cells, including muscle, brown adipose, cartilage, bone, tendon, and dermis.
Utilizing its expertise, Somite is developing a digital twin of the embryo—a computational model mirroring real embryo development and behavior. Tapping into data-rich sources like scRNA-Seq, scATAC-seq, and gene expression databases, the digital twin empowers AI to uncover innovative protocols swiftly, identify regulators of cell differentiation, and conduct rapid optimization cycles.
Somite’s proprietary digital twin surfaces actionable insights and expedites protocol iterations. Somite also builds on work performed in the Pourquie laboratory, where the production of somite-derived lineages such as human satellite and brown adipose cells in vitro was optimized using computational analysis and AI, allowing a critical increase in purity without sorting procedures. Since its founding, Somite has rapidly achieved noteworthy milestones, including gaining acceptance to the Blavatnik Harvard Life Labs and securing IP for patents.
KEY QUOTES:
“The future of medicine lies at the intersection of AI and biology. With Somite’s AlphaStem platform we have the unique opportunity to both unlock the governing principles of cell differentiation and introduce therapies to cure tens of millions of people. This funding round is only one of many first steps in our exciting journey.”
– Micha Breakstone, CEO and Co-Founder of Somite
“We are proud to partner with Somite and have high conviction in the exceptional team and transformative solution for stem cell therapy. I am captivated by Somite’s potential to redefine the boundaries of medical innovation. They are committed to advancing their groundbreaking stem cell therapy technology and have the power to transform the lives of millions of people by leveraging AI to produce human tissue for cell therapies.”
– Yaron Samid, Founder and Managing Partner at TechAviv
