London-based Ternary Therapeutics, a BioTech startup developing AI-driven molecular glues, has raised €4.1 million (£3.6 million) in Seed funding. The round was led by daphni, with participation from Pace Ventures, the i&i Biotech Fund, and the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund, managed by Future Planet Capital.
Dr Chris Tame, co-founder and CEO, said: “Molecular glues have delivered some of the most exciting breakthroughs in drug discovery, but they’ve historically been discovered by chance. Our platform combines physics-informed AI with rapid lab validation to engineer these molecules intentionally and at scale, turning drug discovery into an engineering problem rather than trial and error.”
Founded in 2024, Ternary Therapeutics’ platform integrates machine learning, physics-based molecular modeling, and experimental biology to design molecular glues—drugs that can target proteins previously considered undruggable. The AI models predict protein behavior and propose molecules to create new protein interactions, which are then tested in the lab, with results feeding back to refine the next design iteration.
The company has already generated preclinical programs targeting inflammatory and neuroinflammatory diseases and has secured early research collaborations with pharmaceutical and biotech partners.
“Ternary’s approach addresses one of the hardest problems in drug discovery: designing molecular glues predictably,” said Cristian Pinto, Investor at daphni. “Their platform integrates AI, physics, and experimental biology to tackle this challenge systematically.”
This Seed round places Ternary within a broader wave of AI-driven drug discovery investment in Europe, alongside startups such as London’s Sable Bio (€3.15M Seed), Austria’s Graph Therapeutics (€3M pre-Seed), Oxford’s Scripta Therapeutics (€10.3M Seed), and Switzerland’s FluoSphera (€1.23M). Together, these early-stage investments indicate roughly €21.8 million flowing into AI-enabled BioTech platforms in 2025–2026.
Funding will be used to expand computational and laboratory teams and advance lead programs toward preclinical development.
Oliver Sexton, Investment Director at UKI2S, added, “Ternary’s platform harnesses compute power and AI to target previously unreachable proteins. This is a world-class example of ambition with significant potential for patient benefit.”
By reliably designing molecular glues, Ternary aims to dramatically expand the number of druggable targets, opening opportunities for new therapies and strategic partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies.
