Today we’re announcing the close of our $70M Series A, a $25M grant from New York’s Empire State Development and introducing the partners joining us as we build a new form of chemistry that machines can do and AI can use to transform small molecule discovery and manufacturing.
Excelsior Sciences emerged to solve a two century-old bottleneck: the slow, artisanal process of small molecule synthesis. Our mission is clear — create automated chemistry built for closed-loop learning and discovery. Our partners and team members hold a deep conviction to change how small molecules are discovered and manufactured.
Our partners
Our Series A was co-led by Deerfield Management, Khosla Ventures, and Sofinnova Partners, who share our vision of a world transformed by novel chemistry. They are joined by Cornucopian Capital, Eli Lilly & Company, Illinois Ventures, and MIT, a leading academic institution.
We’re also honored to receive a $25 million grant from New York’s Empire State Development, whose funding supported the buildout of the platform.
Why Excelsior Sciences is unique
AI can imagine new molecules but without the ability to rapidly make, purify, and test them, progress stalls. Earlier attempts at automated synthesis struggled because they mimicked traditional workflows, which are optimized for humans, not machines.
Excelsior Sciences takes a fundamentally new approach.
At the core are smart bloccs: automated synthesis-friendly chemical building blocks that enable iterative carbon–carbon bond formation. Smart bloccs function as a modular chemical “language,” giving AI the ability to design molecules that machines can rapidly build, test, and optimize in a closed loop.
Excelsior’s platform is the first to unite discovery-scale chemistry and manufacturing designed to create a seamless transition from the first milligram to the first clinical batch.
A proven scientific foundation
Excelsior Sciences is built on a strong track record of advancing automated chemistry and AI-guided molecular design. Our founders, Michael Foley, Marty Burke, Bartosz Grzybowski, and Jana Jensen, bring world-class expertise across chemistry, computation, company building, and biopharma leadership.
By marrying automated small molecule synthesis with AI, we’re sparking an innovation renaissance of safer, more effective solutions to human and planetary challenges. Our platform is one of very few that has real peer-reviewed and published capability.
Why now
The pharmaceutical industry is facing a major reshoring imperative. The U.S. remains deeply reliant on offshore discovery and manufacturing, creating significant strategic vulnerabilities. More than $250 billion is being committed to rebuilding resilient supply chains but progress requires faster chemical synthesis, testing, and AI-driven learning.
Excelsior Sciences is pioneering a new form of chemistry, with the power to advance every industry that uses small molecules. With automated synthesis and closed-loop AI, we can discover better molecules faster. And because the same chemistry powers both discovery and scale-up, reshoring can be more cost-effective, providing our nation with strategic immunity by reducing reliance on vulnerable international supply chains..
What this funding enables
Our $95M funding will accelerate Excelsior’s progress across key initiatives:
- Scaling our smart bloccs collection
- Expanding automated, closed-loop AI systems
- Advancing our internal pipeline
- Building partnerships across therapeutics and materials science
- Growing our team at the intersection of chemistry and AI
Join us
Researchers and prospective partners: Let’s accelerate the discoveries that matter most. Builders and scientists: Come help redefine what’s possible in small molecule science.
We’re rebuilding chemistry from the ground up and opening a new frontier for AI-driven innovation.
