About Excelsior
We’re Rebuilding the World from the
Bottom Up: What Molecular Solution Are You Seeking?
Excelsior Sciences is leveraging a new form of chemistry that machines can do, AI can learn from, and anyone can engage. With our smart blocc platform, we’re ending chemistry’s 200-year artisanal phase and ushering in its automated era, reducing cost and complexity while making molecular solutions accessible across industries.
We are developing our own proprietary therapeutic pipeline while also collaborating with partners across industries where small molecules are key — including pharmaceuticals, materials science, and agtech. By combining proprietary chemistry with a closed-loop discovery and manufacturing platform, we enable the creation of superior small-molecule solutions and unlock new possibilities for innovation across these sectors.

Story & Team
We Bring Together Leading Experts in Chemistry, Computation, and Company-building
Our team has a proven, published track record advancing automated small-molecule synthesis coupled to AI to solve real-world challenges.
Leadership Team
Board Members and Advisors

Mark Murcko, Ph.D.
Advisor

Sara Szymkuć, Ph.D.
Advisor

Pat Walters, Ph.D.
Advisor

David Drewry, Ph.D.
Advisor

Nessan Bermingham
Board Member

Jim Flynn
Board Member

Edward Kliphuis
Board Member
Our team

Ayome Abibi
Automation Engineer
Salvatore Amato
Finance Lead

Sigi Benjamin, PhD
Biology Lead

Kristin Burns-Huang, PhD
Project Management Lead
Sun Eui Kim
Chemistry Lab Automation Specialist

Olivia Goethe, PhD
Synthetic Organic Chemistry Lead
Kevin Mai, PhD
Mass Spec Specialist
Bill Motsch, PhD
Synthetic Organic Chemist
Lillian Lie, PhD
Scientific Strategy Associate

Safet Palamar
ADME Specialist

Monica Rosen
Lab Operations Manager
Shan Sun, Ph.D
Senior Scientist, Computational Chemistry

Christian Tapp
Automation Software Engineer
Jenny Vu
Principal Scientist, Lab Automation
Julia Aguirre
Screening Specialist
Imani Zakiyah Davis
Executive Assistant
Benjamin Reid
Informatics Specialist
Deerfield Support

Christine Brideau
Deerfield Discovery & Development – Vice President, Preclinical Pharmacology
Marissa Carnevale
Deerfield Portfolio Company Operations – Director of Talent Acquisition
Bhumika Patel
Deerfield Portfolio Company Operations – Human Resources Manager

Support & Partnerships
Excelsior’s financing includes a $70 million Series A, co-led by Deerfield Management, Khosla Ventures, and Sofinnova Partners, as well as a $25 million grant from New York’s Empire State Development. Other participants include Cornucopian Capital, Eli Lilly and Company, Illinois Ventures, and the leading academic institution, MIT.




