Xaira Therapeutics, an AI-focused biotech startup, is based in a laboratory near downtown Seattle, founded with over $1 billion in investments. The team consists of researchers from the nearby Institute for Protein Design (IPD) at the University of Washington, including Nathaniel Bennett, Justas Dauparas, Buwei Huang, and Philip Leung. Xaira aims to develop new therapeutics based on proteins and other molecules by integrating molecular design with AI-based approaches across the drug development pipeline.
Hetu Kamisetty, a co-founder of Xaira, was previously a scientist with Facebook’s generative AI team and a senior fellow in the lab of IPD head David Baker. The IPD has been at the center of protein design advancements, having spun out multiple successful companies and received scientific accolades. Baker and his team have developed deep learning tools that predict how proteins fold into three-dimensional shapes, leading to generative models like ProteinMPNN, RFDiffusion, and RFantibody, which are used to design potential therapeutics.
Xaira’s focus on molecular design beyond nature’s templates aims to target “undruggable” cellular molecules in disease treatment. The company is working to develop therapeutic proteins that surpass nature’s designs, utilizing technology from the IPD to create new antibodies and miniproteins that bind to human biomarkers. The company’s goal of conquering undruggable targets has attracted significant venture capital investment, with co-founders like Robert Nelsen from Arch Venture Partners and Vikram Bajaj from Foresite Capital.
Most of Xaira’s operations are based in the Bay Area, with a team of 80 employees, though they are expanding their Seattle team to about two dozen employees by the end of the year. The company’s location in Seattle is strategically advantageous for protein design, aiming to accelerate the feedback loop between experimental data and modeling to enhance their drug development process. Promising candidates from the Seattle lab are further tested and refined in the Bay Area labs, preparing them for clinical trials.
Xaira’s competitors in the biotech space include AI-powered startups like Insitro and Generate:Biomedicines, as well as big pharma companies like Eli Lilly and Bristol Myers Squibb. Kamisetty believes that the future of biotech lies in being digitally native and leveraging AI capabilities. He predicts that in five to ten years, AI will be the standard approach to biotech and drug discovery, highlighting the importance of building on AI technologies for success in the industry.
The Xaira team at Dexter Yard in Seattle collaborates with other biotech startups, including Outpace Bio and Monod Bio, while participating in recreational activities like soccer and basketball. Xaira’s goal is to race to the top of the biotech industry by utilizing AI technologies to accelerate drug discovery and development. The company’s focus on conquering undruggable targets and building innovative therapeutics based on AI integration with molecular design positions them as a key player in the evolving biotech landscape.
