Recursion Pharmaceuticals built the world's largest biological dataset by photographing billions of cellular experiments with AI, then using that data to discover new drugs. The company's labs run thousands of experiments per week, generating petabytes of imaging data that AI models analyze to find drug candidates. Recursion has partnered with Bayer, Roche/Genentech, and others on billion-dollar deals. If biology is becoming an information science, Recursion is building the database.
Founded
2013
HQ
Salt Lake City, USA
Total Raised
$1.5 billion
Founder
Chris Gibson, Dean Li, Blake Borgeson
Status
Public (NASDAQ: RXRX)
Website
www.recursion.comTHE ORIGIN STORY
Chris Gibson, a computational biologist, and his co-founders started Recursion in 2013 at the University of Utah with a radical idea: what if you could search for drug discoveries the way Google searches the internet? They built automated labs that systematically knock out genes in human cells, treat them with compounds, and photograph the results with high-content microscopy.
AI analyzes the images to identify patterns that human scientists would miss. The result is a massive map of biology that can be searched for drug targets.
WHAT THEY ACTUALLY DO
Pharma partnerships and internal drug pipeline. Recursion earns revenue through large partnerships — Bayer ($120M upfront), Roche/Genentech ($150M), and others — where pharma companies pay for access to Recursion's platform for specific disease areas.
The company also develops its own drugs internally, with multiple programs in clinical trials.
THE PRODUCTS
Recursion OS (AI-driven drug discovery platform). RxRx (biological image dataset — one of the largest in the world).
Automated High-Content Screening (thousands of experiments per week). AI-Powered Drug Target Identification.
Multiple clinical programs in rare diseases and oncology.
HOW THEY GREW
Platform partnerships with major pharma. Recursion's growth strategy is to prove its platform works through large, high-value partnerships.
Each successful partnership validates the platform and attracts the next one. The company also raised capital through its NASDAQ IPO to fund its own drug development programs.
THE HARD PART
Drug development timelines and clinical risk. Even with AI-driven discovery, drugs still take years to develop and 90% fail in clinical trials.
Recursion's internal programs are in early stages. The company needs its pharma partnerships to generate near-term revenue while its own drugs progress through trials.
MONEY TRAIL
Series C
2019 · Led by Casdin Capital
$121M raised
Series D
2020 · Led by Baillie Gifford
$239M raised
IPO
2021 · Led by NASDAQ: RXRX
$436M raised
$4.0B valuation
Follow-On Offering
2023 · Led by Various
$350M raised
WHO BACKED THEM
IPO'd on NASDAQ in 2021. Partnered with Bayer ($120M upfront + $1B+ potential milestones), Roche/Genentech ($150M upfront), and NVIDIA (computational partnership).
Previous investors include Baillie Gifford, SoftBank, and Casdin Capital.
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