A-Alpha Bio
Facts
- HQ
- Seattle
- Sectors
- Biotechnology Research
- Founded
- 2017
- Type
- Corporation Seattle business license
- Employees
- 50
- Registered name
- A Alpha Bio Inc Seattle business license
- Stage
- startup
- Total raised
- $23.1M SEC Form D filings Total of this company's SEC Form D filings
- Last round
- $20.3M · Aug 2021 SEC Form D
- Founders
- David Younger, PhD, Randolph Lopez, PhD
Saray Covey announces Harell Data early-access platform connecting AI modelers with proprietary datasets from A-Alpha Bio and Adaptive Biotechnologies
Harell Data launched an early-access platform to connect AI modelers with proprietary biotech datasets so data owners and model builders can earn from training runs and model usage; initial partners include A-Alpha Bio and Adaptive Biotechnologies. The announcement links to a GeekWire article and was posted by Saray Covey.
Harell Data founded by Harlan Robins raises $15M to let data owners securely monetize AI training
Harlan Robins, co-founder and former CSO of Adaptive Biotechnologies, launched Harell Data with $15 million in funding to let proprietary data owners securely host datasets for AI model training and receive direct revenue shares instead of waiting for downstream royalties.
ScopeSys raises $1.1M to commercialize CLiC instruments that visualize individual RNA/DNA for genomic medicine makers
Vancouver startup ScopeSys, founded in 2017 and spun out of UBC research, builds analytical instruments using Convex Lens-induced Confinement (CLiC) to let drugmakers observe individual RNA/DNA molecules and nanoparticles. The seven-person company recently closed a $1.1 million seed round and aims to improve characterization, formulation development, and manufacturing control for genomic medicines.
Harlan Robins launches Harell Data with A-Alpha Bio and Adaptive Biotechnologies datasets to enable AI on proprietary antibody and TCR data
Harell Data, founded by Harlan Robins, provides an integrated compute environment that lets researchers train AI models on proprietary biological datasets while keeping data providers' ownership and preventing data export. It launches with large antibody-antigen affinity data from A-Alpha Bio and over one million validated TCR αβ–peptide interactions plus 500 million negatives from Adaptive Biotechnologies, and features blind benchmarking, a public leaderboard, and revenue share for model developers.
A-Alpha Bio, led by CEO David Younger, launches AI antibody data consortium with GSK and Boltz among five founders
A-Alpha Bio, a company spun out of David Baker's work and led by CEO David Younger, has launched a first-of-its-kind AI antibody data consortium with five founding members including GSK and Boltz to supply data for AI models designing antibodies.
Seattle Startups Yoodli and A-Alpha Bio Appoint New C-Suite Execs, TiE Seattle Names Siddhartha Srinivasa as President
Seattle startups Yoodli, A-Alpha Bio, and MoxiWorks have added senior executives, including Andy Larson as Yoodli's CFO and Troy Lionberger as A-Alpha Bio's chief business officer, while TiE Seattle appointed Siddhartha Srinivasa as president. These moves highlight growth and leadership shifts in the Seattle tech sector, with companies focusing on AI, biotech, and robotics.
Fred Hutch-Led Synthesize Bio Raises $10M to Accelerate Drug Discovery Using AI Gene Expression Model
Seattle-based Synthesize Bio, led by Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center researchers, raised $10 million from Madrona to accelerate drug discovery using their AI model GEM-1, which predicts gene expression outcomes with lab-level accuracy. The startup aims to reduce drug development time and costs by simulating hypothetical lab experiments with generative genomics.
Trump-Era Funding Cuts and Hiring Freeze Stall UW Protein Design Startups Led by Nobel Laureate David Baker
The University of Washington's Institute for Protein Design, led by Nobel laureate David Baker, faces a hiring freeze and funding cuts under the Trump administration, stalling its promising protein design startups and reducing opportunities for graduate students and postdocs. Despite Nobel-driven interest and advances in AI-designed proteins, budget constraints threaten future innovation and company spinoffs.
UW Students' Jaundice Detection Tool Wins $17,500 at 2024 Hollomon Health Innovation Challenge
A University of Washington student team named Luminovah won the grand prize and another award at the UW Hollomon Health Innovation Challenge for developing a non-invasive jaundice detection tool effective across all skin tones. The team is partnering with Seattle Children’s for human trials aiming for FDA approval and plans to offer rental devices to parents of affected newborns.
Nobel Laureate David Baker Drives Protein Design Innovation and Startup Growth at University of Washington
David Baker, Nobel Prize winner and head of the Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington, is focused on advancing protein design research and entrepreneurship, having helped spawn over 20 startups in Seattle's biotech hub. He plans to continue accelerating scientific innovation in the field, which develops new proteins for therapeutics, vaccines, and materials.
Seattle Venture Day 2024 - Highlight Video
Seattle Venture Day is OneSixOne Ventures' flagship Seattle tech event. The 2nd annual event brought together 250+ tech leaders, investors and founders at the Queen Anne Beerhall for networking and some insightful dialogues about build and investing in startups. The event featured a fireside chat with Matt McIlwain, Managing Partner at Madrona (3x Forbes Midas list) in addition to panel discussions featuring other notable speakers such as Geoff Entress (Pioneer Square Labs), Bill McAleer (Voyager Capital), Aviel Ginzburg (Founders Co-op), Kristen Hamilton (Enjoy The Work), Maria Colacurcio (Syndio), Laura Ruderman (Technology Alliance), Kirby Winfield (Ascend VC), Julie Sandler (PSL Ventures)…
CoMotion Endorses AUTM COVID-19 Licensing Guidelines to Facilitate Access to University Innovations
CoMotion supports rapid access to university COVID-19 innovations by endorsing AUTM's humanitarian licensing guidelines and provides ongoing resources like webinars and podcasts for startups navigating the pandemic.
#64 Matt McIlwain – MD Madrona Venture Group on all Things Venture Capital
Nataraj interviewed veteran VC Matt McIlwain of Madrona Venture Group on Startup Project podcast. Matt shared his insights into the state of venture capital and the impacts of AI, drawn from his 20+ years of experience. Some key takeaways: 1. Venture is a "tale of two cities" now - later stage startups are struggling, earlier stage companies embracing AI are thriving 2. Seattle has unmatched talent but lacks local capital - still over-reliant on Silicon Valley VCs 3. Incumbents have the edge currently in leveraging AI due to data, customers, ability to integrate via APIs - but long term, AI-native…
University of Washington’s CoMotion Innovation Arm Moving to Condon Hall Near Startup Hall in 2023
The University of Washington's innovation arm, CoMotion, will relocate from the Blume building to Condon Hall near Startup Hall later this year, expanding its space and event capabilities. Startup Hall is part of the Portage Bay Crossing neighborhood, which aims to foster research, education, and entrepreneurship.
Shift AI Podcast: Seattle's place at the center of the AI universe, with Madrona's Matt McIlwain
On this week’s GeekWire Podcast, we're featuring an episode of Shift AI, a podcast hosted by Boaz Ashkenazy, CEO of AI solutions provider Simply Augmented, with guest Matt McIlwain of Seattle-based venture capital firm Madrona Venture Group. A thriving tech hub requires access to ideas, people, and experiments that produce collective lessons sooner and with greater fidelity than anywhere else. This is what made the Seattle area the cloud capital of the world. It also positions the region as one of the world’s top centers of excellence for artificial intelligence. That’s one of the insights from Matt McIlwain, managing director…
Seattle Biotech Startup A-Alpha Bio Raises $22.4M to Advance AI Platform for Protein Interaction Analysis
Seattle biotech startup A-Alpha Bio raised $22.4 million to advance its AI-driven platform that measures protein interactions, partnering with major drug companies like Bristol Myers Squibb and Gilead Sciences to accelerate therapeutic development. Its platform combines computational tools and yeast experiments to analyze nearly 500 million protein-protein interaction measurements for drug discovery.
University of Washington Students' Endozene Wins $15,000 for Endometriosis Menstrual Blood Test at 8th UW Hollomon Health Innovation Challenge
University of Washington students' startup Endozene won the top prize and $15,000 at the 8th annual UW Hollomon Health Innovation Challenge for developing a menstrual blood test to detect endometriosis using a lateral flow assay. Other winning teams included Amor, creating an artificial liver support device, and OneCourt.
Investor Spotlight with Matt McIlwain
Get to know Madrona Managing Partner Matt McIlwain. Learn where he gets his spark to work with entrepreneurs, what he looks for in founders, where the opportunities lay for founders when it comes to generative AI, and what he enjoys doing outside the office.
IA40 Spotlight: A-Alpha Bio's David Younger on machine learning in biotech, building cross-functional teams
This week on Founded & Funded, Partner Chris Picardo is talking with A-Alpha Bio Co-founder and CEO David Younger for our first Intelligent Application 40 Spotlight episode of 2023. We announced the 2022 IA40 winners in October, and A-Alpha was the first biotech company to make the list, which was no surprise to us. As one of our portfolio companies, we know the work David and his team are doing at the intersections of biological and data/computer sciences will change the world — but having a group of judges agree with us makes us all the more certain. Protein interactions…
University of Washington Launches Vilya with $50 Million to Develop Membrane-Permeable Peptide Drugs
University of Washington researchers developed custom peptides that penetrate cell membranes, enabling a new class of drugs with combined benefits of small molecules and protein therapeutics. They founded Vilya, backed by $50 million from Arch Venture Partners, to commercialize this drug platform described in Cell.
GeekWire returns in person for 2022 Awards at Showbox SoDo, honoring 60+ finalists across 15 categories with 16,000+ votes
GeekWire held its first in-person GeekWire Awards in three years at Showbox SoDo in Seattle, honoring 60+ finalists across 15 categories with over 16,000 community votes and appearances by local tech leaders and entertainers.
DoD awards $1.1M to Seattle’s A-Alpha Bio to hunt antibodies for COVID-19 variants with LLNL collaboration
Seattle biotech A-Alpha Bio received a $1.1 million DoD sub-contract to collaborate with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, using its AlphaSeq platform and machine learning to identify high-affinity antibodies against current and future COVID-19 variants.
Andreessen Horowitz, Madrona and other tech VCs ramp up bets on AI-driven biotech startups as founders from software enter life sciences
Tech venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Seattle’s Madrona Venture Group are increasingly investing in life-science startups that use AI, machine learning and data science to speed drug discovery and development. Investors are following founders who transitioned from software to biotech—such as Sujal Patel of Nautilus and Terry Myerson of Truveta—seeing reduced perceived risk and new opportunity at this intersection.
Madrona Venture Group leads $60M Series A in Terray Therapeutics to fund AI‑powered drug discovery
Pasadena-based Terray Therapeutics raised $60 million in a Series A led by Seattle’s Madrona Venture Group to advance its nanotechnology chips and AI-driven drug discovery screening.
Cyrus Biotechnology signs protein-engineering deal with Selecta Biosciences worth up to $1.5 billion to develop IL-2/ImmTOR immune therapy
Seattle-based Cyrus Biotechnology struck a protein-engineering collaboration with Boston’s Selecta Biosciences to engineer IL-2 combined with Selecta’s ImmTOR, a deal that could pay Cyrus up to $1.5 billion if milestones are met. Cyrus will use its software and lab testing to enhance IL-2 stability and function, adding to its existing partnerships and commercial sales of Cyrus Bench.
People
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David Younger Founder, Co-Founder and CEO, Executive Officer, Director
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Randolph Lopez Founder, Co-founder & CTO
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Matt McIlwain Director, Board Member
