Cradle Secures $73m Series B to Accelerate AI-Driven Protein Engineering

Cradle, the pioneering platform for AI-powered protein engineering in Amsterdam, Netherlands, has successfully raised US$73m in Series B funding. The round, led by IVP with participation from existing investors Index Ventures and Kindred Capital, brings the company’s total funding to over US$100m.

Cradle’s generative AI platform is already used across multiple industries, including pharmaceuticals, agriculture, food production, and chemical manufacturing. Leading organisations such as Novo Nordisk, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, Novonesis, and Grifols rely on Cradle’s AI technology for advancing R&D in therapeutics, diagnostics, and a wide range of bio-based products.

A key feature of Cradle’s platform is its commitment to data security and intellectual property (IP) protection. Cradle’s customers retain full ownership of any proteins engineered on its platform, and the company’s architecture ensures that customer data is used solely for training models tailored to their specific needs. The platform is adaptable across a wide variety of assets and applications, from therapeutic proteins and enzymes to antibodies, peptides, vaccines, and agricultural innovations. In the last year, Cradle has expanded its customer base and increased its commercial footprint, forging new partnerships with organisations such as Novo Nordisk and Ginkgo Bioworks.

Cradle has demonstrated its ability to accelerate R&D timelines by up to 12 times in commercially relevant projects. One notable example comes from a biotechnology client who used Cradle to boost the activity of the P450 enzyme by four times in just three experimental rounds, compared to the usual ten rounds using traditional methods. Stef van Grieken, Cradle’s CEO and co-founder, commented: “At Cradle, we believe that AI can solve some of the world’s most complex challenges by accelerating the development of bio-based products. Our platform has already delivered outstanding results in a range of applications, from novel therapeutics and vaccines to sustainable chemicals and crop protection. With this Series B funding, we are positioned to scale our technology and empower millions of scientists to develop smarter, more sustainable solutions. Our ultimate goal is to put Cradle’s AI tools in the hands of one million scientists and drive innovation at an unprecedented scale.”

The Dutch-Swiss company with operations also in Zurich, Switzerland, will continue to expand its AI research, sales, and operations teams. The new announcement comes around a year after raising €21.92m in a Series A funding round.