{"text":[[{"start":10.3,"text":"Investors are pouring fresh money into AI-driven drug discovery even though the technology has yet to produce an approved medicine, as specialist venture firm Dimension Capital has raised one of the biotech sector’s largest dedicated funds."}],[{"start":24.200000000000003,"text":"The San Francisco and New York-based firm has closed an $800mn third fund, betting on computational biotech — companies using AI as the primary tool to discover new medicines rather than conventional lab methods. "}],[{"start":38.7,"text":"The fund underscores growing investor enthusiasm for the niche, which attracted $2.2bn of venture funding in 2025, up from $599mn two years earlier."}],[{"start":50.300000000000004,"text":"Dimension has become one of the most active investors in computational biotech, making more early-stage investments in the sector between 2024 and the first half of 2026 than venture firms including Khosla Ventures and General Catalyst. The new fund will write cheques ranging from less than $10mn to as much as $100mn."}],[{"start":71.65,"text":"Zavain Dar, a co-founder of the fund, said big venture rivals are pivoting away from software businesses amid worries about a “SaaSpocalypse”, which refers to a sell-off of software-as-a-service companies most threatened by AI."}],[{"start":86.45,"text":"“As SaaS businesses get hit, there is a rotation of talent into machine learning and AI,” Dar said. “Five to six years ago, what would have been backwater industries are attracting the smartest people on the planet.” And as people shift “you see the rotation of capital” as well, he said. "}],[{"start":102.95,"text":"The rush of investment comes as large pharmaceutical companies including Eli Lilly and AstraZeneca have struck partnerships with AI companies to help identify new medicines. Around 850 AI-developed drugs are in progress globally, according to UBS, but none has yet won regulatory approval in the US."}],[{"start":123.2,"text":"The sector has also attracted more traditional tech investors. In January, Andreessen Horowitz launched a $700mn fund to invest in businesses applying AI to biotech and healthcare."}],[{"start":135.7,"text":"“Enthusiasm has increased and so has the opportunity for other investors coming in,” said Jonathan Norris, a managing director at HSBC. While increased competition could make it harder for specialist investors to win deals, firms such as Dimension had established themselves as leading backers of computational biotech, he said."}],[{"start":155.64999999999998,"text":"Dimension’s investments include Earendil Labs, a Chinese-US biotechnology company developing AI-designed immune and oncology medicines, which raised $787mn in March in the largest fundraising this year by a US or European biotech company. "}],[{"start":172.54999999999998,"text":"It also backed Coefficient Bio, which was acquired by Anthropic in April, and Chai Discovery, whose investors include OpenAI. Dimension has funded NewLimit, a genetic reprogramming start-up co-founded by Coinbase chief executive Brian Armstrong."}],[{"start":187.89999999999998,"text":"For Dimension, “there’s a lot of fast followers to their thesis”, Norris said. But multiple businesses in their portfolio have raised additional money, he said. “That’s getting people excited.”"}],[{"start":205.7,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1784616144_1788.mp3"}