Today’s antibiotic and cancer treatments often ignore genetic diversity. This results in poor survival rates and increasing resistance. Each year, antimicrobial resistance causes over 1.27 million deaths globally. It contributes to 5M more. Without new treatments, healthcare systems face trillions in costs by 2050. AMPLY aims to bridge this gap. Unlike single-asset biotech startups, the company uses a broad-based approach. It seeks to validate its core technology while building a pipeline across multiple diseases.
In a major step forward for AI drug discovery, Belfast -based AMPLY Discovery has secured $1.75M in seed funding. The round supports its mission to develop therapies for aggressive cancers and drug-resistant infections using its proprietary AI platform.
The funding, led by Twin Path Ventures, comes at a time when existing treatments fail too many patients. From drug-resistant lung infections to lethal cancers like triple-negative breast cancer, AMPLY aims to deliver new precision therapies that move faster than evolution.
Building a new pipeline for scalable precision medicine
With the new capital, AMPLY will accelerate its current drug discovery programmes through the preclinical stage. The company also plans to expand its biologics pipeline and explore new therapeutic targets.
Its long-term vision includes rapid-response treatments for high-need diseases and a scalable discovery platform for future pandemics. By developing precision antimicrobials and cancer drugs, AMPLY hopes to lead a new wave of personalised medicine.
As resistance grows and traditional treatments stall, AMPLY’s AI-first strategy could prove vital. Its platform not only promises speed and lower costs but also unlocks solutions shaped by nature -and improved by machine learning.
Founders blend science and personal motivation to transform AI drug discovery
AMPLY Discovery was spun out of Queen’s University Belfast. The founding team brings diverse expertise spanning biology, data science, and commercialisation.
Dr Ben Thomas, originally a financial modeller, transitioned to computational biology after his father died from a drug-resistant infection. “Ten years ago, I began combining financial modelling expertise with computational biology to create a drug discovery platform. Evolution has spent billions of years perfecting natural defence mechanisms, and now we’re using AI to unlock this wisdom. This isn’t just professional for me; my father died from a drug-resistant infection our healthcare system couldn’t treat. At Queen’s, I built AMPLY to tackle deadly diseases differently, creating technology that will save lives when current treatments fail,” he said.
Dr Thomas completed his PhD at Aberystwyth University and later developed the platform at Queen’s, where he met co-founder Dermot Tierney. Tierney now serves as AMPLY’s Chief Operating Officer. Alongside them, Prof. Chris Creevey, an expert in computational biology, contributed over a decade of research that underpins the company’s platform.
AMPLY’s AI drug discovery engine combines Next Generation Sequencing, synthetic biology, and advanced algorithms. The platform analyses huge biological datasets to pinpoint new targets. It then bio-prints molecules for fast lab testing.
This enables the development of drugs tailored to individual genetic profiles. AMPLYfolioAI, the company’s proprietary platform, focuses on decoding disease complexity and building smarter biologic therapies. The company is currently developing inhalable peptides for the treatment of lung infections. It is also developing gene-silencing therapies for cancers such as acute myeloid leukaemia and triple-negative breast cancer.
Strategic backers are confident in AMPLY’s AI drug discovery platform
Twin Path Ventures, a London-based AI investor with a strong track record, led the round. Other backers include US-based Venture Science, Co-Fund NI, the British Business Bank, and QUBIS Limited.
Katie Lockwood, Partner at Twin Path, explained the investment rationale. “Data is the new oil. We’re impressed by Amply’s proprietary experimental dataset, their unique AI approach that incorporates human expertise, and their ability to validate AI discoveries through in vitro and in vivo testing. The founding team exemplifies the cross-disciplinary expertise we seek in breakthrough AI investments. Their application of AI to computational biology has already yielded impressive results that could transform drug discovery for complex diseases.”
Meanwhile, Dermot Tierney emphasised the importance of the capital in a tough market. “We’re deploying our platform against complex cancers and multidrug-resistant pathogens that threaten our current antibiotic arsenal. This investment is a vote of confidence in AMPLY, especially given the challenging fundraising environment for seed-stage biotechs. It enables us to execute our plan and target therapeutic areas with significant unmet needs.”
The post AI drug discovery startup AMPLY banks $1.75M to decode cancer and superbugs appeared first on Tech Funding News.