What happened
Basecamp Research announced the closure of a $140 million Series C funding round led by S32. The company stated the capital will be used to train new generations of its EDEN foundation models and advance its therapeutics toward clinical development, specifically focusing on in vivo cell therapy. The round included participation from NVIDIA, Anthropic, and various venture capital firms, and marks the company's first raise in approximately two years.
Basecamp Research has closed a $140 million Series C funding round, which was led by S32. The round was oversubscribed and included participation from Menlo Ventures’ Anthology Fund, Catalio Capital Management, European Tech Collective, Firebrand River Capital, Inception Fund, King Philanthropies, the NATO Innovation Fund, NVIDIA, PostScriptum, Redalpine, The Rockefeller Foundation, Singular, Sovereign AI, and True Ventures. Roche Vice-Chairman André Hoffmann also invested personally in the company.
The company stated that the funding will be used to train a new generation of its EDEN foundation models and to advance its therapeutics toward clinical development. A primary focus is in vivo cell therapy, where Basecamp aims to use large serine recombinases to integrate AI-designed DNA sequences directly into a patient's genome inside the body. This approach is intended to replace traditional cell therapies that are manufactured outside the body, which are currently costly and logistically complex.
Basecamp’s technology is built on the Trillion Gene Atlas, described by the company as the world’s largest proprietary biological AI training . This dataset was built in partnership with NVIDIA, Anthropic, PacBio, and Ultima Genomics through access-and-benefit-sharing agreements in over 30 countries. The EDEN models are trained on this data to generate candidate therapeutics, including cell and gene therapies, enzymes, and peptides.
The company reported that in June, it connected its EDEN antibiotic and vaccine design models to Anthropic’s Claude Science. In trials with the University of Pennsylvania, 97% of the antibiotic peptides designed by EDEN zero-shot were active against WHO priority pathogens. One candidate showed efficacy comparable to a last-line antibiotic in mice infected with a multidrug-resistant superbug. This is Basecamp's first raise in roughly two years, following a $60 million Series B in October 2024.
Source details: en.wowtale.net ↗
Why it matters
This funding supports a distinct approach to AI in drug discovery that relies on a proprietary, large-scale biological rather than public data. By integrating AI-designed DNA sequences directly into living cells, Basecamp aims to reduce the high costs and logistical complexities associated with traditional ex vivo cell therapies, potentially offering a more accessible treatment pathway for conditions like cancer and autoimmune diseases.
The funding highlights a shift in AI drug discovery toward proprietary, high-quality biological data as a competitive advantage. While competitors like Xaira Therapeutics and Isomorphic Labs focus on designing molecules and proteins, Basecamp differentiates itself by independently collecting and cataloguing biological samples from over 200 sites across 30-plus countries.
The move toward in vivo cell therapy addresses a significant practical barrier in current medicine. Traditional cell therapies require harvesting, modifying, and reinfusing cells, a process that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars per patient. Basecamp’s approach aims to reprogram cells directly within the body, which could significantly lower costs and improve accessibility for treating cancer and autoimmune diseases.
The involvement of major tech and biotech players, including NVIDIA and Anthropic, in the funding round underscores the convergence of large-scale AI infrastructure with biological research. The participation of S32, whose General Partner Andy Conrad is joining the board, suggests a strategic focus on translating AI capabilities into clinical applications.
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What to watch next
Investors and researchers will monitor the clinical progression of Basecamp's in vivo cell therapy candidates and the performance of the next-generation EDEN models. Additionally, the practical application of the Trillion Gene Atlas data in generating viable therapeutics will be a key indicator of the company's long-term viability.
The clinical development of Basecamp’s in vivo cell therapy will be the primary metric for success. Investors will look for data on the safety and efficacy of integrating AI-designed DNA sequences into human genomes in a clinical setting.
The performance of the next-generation EDEN models trained on the expanded Trillion Gene Atlas will determine the company's ability to generate viable therapeutics across a broader range of diseases.
Partnerships with pharmaceutical companies, facilitated by the new Chief Business Officer Richard Pearce, will be crucial for scaling the company's technology and bringing its treatments to market.