(Yicai Global) cialis generique Jan. 24 -- Shenzhen-based artificial intelligence biotechnology firm XtalPi Inc. raised USD15 million through B-round financing led by Sequoia Capital China, with Google parent Alphabet Inc. [NASDAQ:GOOG] and Tencent Holdings Ltd. [HK:0700] acting as secondary investors, XtalPi announced today. The Chinese internet behemoth Tencent invested USD3.76 million (CNY24 million) in the biotech startup back in 2016.

After the deal, XtalPi has received more than USD20 million of funding from venture investors, the record high among AI pharmaceutical companies, Lieyunwang.com reported today. It will use the money to promote collaboration with international pharma cooncerns and research institutes and diversify its business into up- and downstream markets.

Founded by a team of quantum physicists at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2014, XtalPi is committed to applying quantum physics, AI and cloud computing technologies to pharmaceutical research activities, and to optimize the drug development efficiency and success rate by enhancing the accuracy and effectiveness of efficacy prediction and control methods.

Since its series-A funding round, the firm has developed rapidly and gained recognition as a leader in AI biotechnology among well-known pharma firms throughout the world, said Li Zhaohui, Tencent's managing partner in charge of investment. Tencent decided to invest in the startup again because it is confident in the XtalPi team's creativity and power to execute and bullish about the future of the emerging AI biotech market, Li added.

XtalPi's technology is reinventing the existing drug research and development approach by reducing reliance on experimental trials, and AI is bound to bring radical changes to the pharmaceutical industry, predicted Shen Nanpeng, a partner at Sequoia Capital.