London-based biotech startup Ternary Therapeutics has raised £3.6m in seed funding to scale an artificial intelligence platform designed to create a new class of medicines known as molecular glues.
The round was led by European venture firm daphni, with participation from Pace Ventures, the i&i Biotech Fund and the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund, managed by Future Planet Capital.
Founded in November 2024, Ternary is developing a platform that combines machine learning, physics-based molecular modelling and rapid laboratory testing to design a new class of medicines known as molecular glues — drugs capable of targeting proteins long considered undruggable.
The approach has already produced several multi-billion-dollar biotechnology companies in the field of targeted protein degradation. However, most molecular glues have historically been discovered by chance rather than deliberately designed.
Ternary’s platform aims to change that by turning the discovery process into a repeatable engineering system. Its AI models predict how proteins behave and suggest molecules that could bring them together. Scientists then test those molecules in the lab, feeding the results back into the system so the next round of designs becomes progressively more accurate.
The company has already generated a pipeline of preclinical programmes focused on inflammatory and neuroinflammatory diseases, and has secured early research collaborations with pharmaceutical and specialist biotechnology partners.
Dr Chris Tame, Co-Founder and Chief Executive of Ternary Therapeutics, said: “Molecular glues have delivered some of the most exciting breakthroughs in drug discovery over the past decade, but historically they’ve been discovered largely by chance rather than through a systematic process.
“Our platform is designed to change that by combining physics-informed AI with rapid experimental validation to engineer these molecules intentionally and at scale. That allows us to approach drug discovery more like an engineering problem than a process of trial and error.
“This investment enables us to expand the platform, grow our team and accelerate programmes towards the clinic, while building the foundations for long-term partnerships with pharmaceutical companies.”
The new funding will be used to expand Ternary’s computational and laboratory teams and advance lead programmes towards preclinical development.
Cristian Pinto, Investor at daphni, said: “Designing molecular glues predictably is one of the hardest problems in drug discovery. Ternary has built a disciplined platform that integrates machine learning, physics and experimental biology to tackle that challenge.”
The investment follows the launch of Daphni Blue, a €260m fund focused on science-led deep technology companies.
Oliver Sexton, Investment Director, UKI2S, managed by Future Planet Capital added, “Ternary’s approach to drug design is enabled by its compute power. The combination of expanding knowledge of biology and recent developments in AI allow it to understand massive complexity and the resulting molecular glue drug candidates target areas that have historically been considered out of reach. This is a world class example of huge ambition with significant potential for patient benefit that UKI2S is delighted to back.”
A large proportion of disease-driving proteins lack obvious drug-binding sites, limiting the reach of traditional medicines. Molecular glues offer a way to bypass that limitation by creating new interactions between proteins.
If platforms like Ternary’s can design these interactions reliably, they could significantly expand the number of druggable targets and open new opportunities for partnerships with major pharmaceutical companies.