By Kane Wu
HONG KONG, Sept 16 (Reuters) – Chinese social media and internet company ByteDance has completed a $290 million fundraising for its AI drugmaking unit after spinning it off from the group, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.
Shanghai-headquartered Anew Labs, which uses AI for drug discovery, has achieved a valuation of $1.5 billion after its inaugural external fundraising, said one of the sources.
The fundraising was led by HSG, formerly known as Sequoia China, IDG Capital and Hillhouse Investment, the sources said, adding that 5Y Capital was a co-lead investor.
Other investors included Gaorong Ventures, Primavera Venture Partners, Boyu Capital as well as strategic investor SBP Group and state-backed Shanghai Future Industries Fund, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the information is not public.
ByteDance and the investors did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
ByteDance spun off the AI drugmaker to better support its long-term development, as AI drug discovery follows a different industry logic and management approach than the group’s core operations, said one of the sources.
ByteDance will maintain a 56% stake after the fundraising, said the second source.
(Reporting by Kane Wu in Hong Kong; Additional reporting by Yantoultra Ngui in Hong Kong; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
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