A Seattle-based biotechnology startup launched by senior researchers from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center has secured $10 million in funding to accelerate drug discovery through artificial intelligence. Synthesize Bio, co-founded by Fred Hutch Chief Data Officer Jeff Leek and Robert Bradley, director of the center’s Translational Data Science Integrated Research Center, has developed an AI system that can predict how potential drugs will affect cell behavior.

The company’s 16-person team has created what they call a generative genomics foundation model (GEM-1) that simulates laboratory test results, potentially making the drug development process faster and more cost-effective. The technology’s capabilities were detailed in a recent preprint published on bioRxiv, where researchers demonstrated that their model can predict gene expression experimental outcomes with accuracy comparable to actual laboratory testing.

Madrona Venture Group provided the funding, with Managing Director Matt McIlwain highlighting the transformative potential of the technology. “With generative genomics, researchers can ask bolder questions, design smarter trials, and test hypotheses that were previously unaffordable or impossible to explore,” McIlwain stated on LinkedIn.

The company’s AI model was trained using publicly available data that linked research experiments with RNA sequencing information, showing gene expression in both healthy and diseased human cells and tissues from laboratory work and clinical trials. The technology aims to overcome traditional biological constraints that slow drug
development, such as cell growth times and clinical trial recruitment challenges.

Synthesize Bio joins a growing ecosystem of AI-focused biotech initiatives in the Seattle area. Other notable projects include the University of Washington’s Institute for Protein Design, which develops AI-designed proteins for disease treatment; the Fred Hutch-led Cancer AI Alliance, collaborating with major research institutions and tech companies; and the Allen Institute’s Seattle Hub for Synthetic Biology.

The region has also seen the emergence of numerous biotech startups like Xaira Therapeutics, Archon Biosciences, Lila Biologics, Outpace Bio, A-Alpha Bio, and Talus Biosciences, among others. The Institute for Protein Design alone has generated 10 spin-off companies.

The research team behind the GEM-1 model includes Gregory Koytiger, Alice M. Walsh, Vaishali Marar, Kayla A. Johnson, Max Highsmith, Alexander R. Abbas, Andrew Stirn, Ariel R. Brumbaugh, Alex David, Darren Hui, Jeffrey M. Kahn, Sheng-Yong Niu, Liza J. Ray, Candace Savonen, and Stein Setvik, who collectively authored the preprint titled “Generative genomics accurately predicts future experimental results.”