Anew Labs

AI Drug Discovery · Biotech · ByteDance Ecosystem

Funding

ByteDance's AI drug spinoff Anew Labs reportedly raises $290M at $1.5B

Spinning out the unit lets outside investors value AI-driven drug discovery separately from ByteDance's core ad business.

• ByteDance completed a $290 million funding round for Anew Labs, its newly spun-off AI drug discovery unit, valuing the company at $1.5 billion, led by HSG, IDG Capital and Hillhouse Investment with 5Y Capital as co-lead, according to Reuters.
• Shanghai-based Anew Labs builds structure-prediction and protein-design models like Protenix and PXDesign, and has four drug candidates, including an AI-designed IL-17 inhibitor, with none yet approved.
• ByteDance will retain a 56% stake after the round, which marks Anew Labs' first external fundraising since being spun off from its parent.
• At $290 million, this is reportedly the largest Series A in Chinese healthcare over the trailing four years, according to Dealroom.
• About 50 staff along with the unit's algorithms, tech platform and pipeline assets moved to the new entity, while ByteDance's Volcano Engine cloud division continues supplying its computing power.
• The deal signals growing investor conviction that AI-native drug discovery can stand as an independent business rather than a side project of a consumer tech giant.