Seattle-based startup Curi Bio landed $10 million in Series A funding for its stem cell-focused drug-exploration platforms. 

This investment comes months after the company announced a $6 million funding round led by Dynamk Capital. 

WHAT IT DOES

Curi Bio developed a platform called Mantrarry, which is able to help scientists “generate and analyze 3D engineered human muscle tissues.” The company's Curi Engine uses artificial intelligence and data analytics to help gain insights into iPSC-derived cells. 

The company also created a platform that is able to create “mechanically conditioned cell and tissue models” called the Cytrostretcher, and another for creating structured cell and tissue models called NanoSurface. 

“Curi Bio is thrilled to partner with the distinguished teams at UTC Investment, DS Asset Management and Dynamk Capital to fuel our next stage of growth,” Michael Cho, CEO of Curi Bio, said in a statement.

“To discover new therapies requires human-relevant disease models. Curi is working to close the gap between preclinical results and clinical outcomes, not only in small molecule discovery, but also in frontier areas like next-generation genetic medicines and cell therapies.”

WHAT IT’S FOR 

The company plans to put the money toward further developing the Mantarry platform and to grow its business. 

THE LARGER TREND

Today there are many companies on the market looking to use technology to help speed up drug development. Investors have taken notice, and have poured millions of dollars into the sector. 

In November, AI-backed drug-discovery platform DeepCure landed $40 million in Series A funding. 

Even Google parent company Alphabet is looking into the space. Also in November, it launched a new company called Isomorphic Laboratories, based on the work done by DeepMind, according to the Verge. 

Valo Health, a tech-backed drug discovery startup, announced a $2.8 billion SPAC merger with Khosla Ventures Acquisition Co. in June.