ByteDance Spins Off AI Drug Discovery Unit at $1B Valuation, Plans $200M Series A in Shanghai

According to Beating, ByteDance has initiated a spin-off of its AI drug discovery business at a $1 billion valuation, with the first funding round expected to raise nearly $200 million and be based in Shanghai. The new company, led by Liu Kai, a former managing director at Volcano Stone Investment, will retain the core AI drug discovery team of 50 people distributed across Shanghai, Singapore, and San Jose.

The company has established a scientific advisory board including former Innovent Biologics president Liu Yongjun and former Amgen Chief Scientist Ji Ma. In 2026, the team launched protein design tools Protenix-v1/v2 and PXDesign, and disclosed an IL-17 inhibitor program at the American Immunology Society annual meeting in April, marking the first global demonstration of blocking three IL-17 family dimers with a small molecule.