A biotech with a Nobel Prize behind it and no pipeline drug in the clinic
Isomorphic Labs was founded in 2021 as a spin-out of Google DeepMind, built around the AlphaFold family of models that predict the 3D structure of proteins, DNA, and RNA -- work that won DeepMind cofounder Demis Hassabis and colleague John Jumper the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Rather than targeting a single disease, Isomorphic's AI drug-design platform is meant to work across therapeutic areas, and the company signed early paid partnerships with Eli Lilly ($45 million upfront, up to $1.7 billion in milestones) and Novartis ($37.5 million upfront, up to $1.2 billion in milestones) in January 2024 to apply that platform to their own drug targets.
As of the latest site review, Isomorphic has not disclosed an internal drug candidate or reached human trials on its own pipeline, which it has said focuses on oncology and immunology. Isomorphic's president, Colin Murdoch, told Fortune in July 2025 that human trials were 'the next big milestone' and that the company was 'staffing up' in anticipation, calling that step 'very close.'
Two enormous outside rounds, with Alphabet still in the room
For its first several years, Isomorphic was funded entirely by Alphabet. That changed in March 2025, when Reuters reported the company had raised $600 million in its first-ever external funding round, led by Thrive Capital. Just over a year later, on May 12, 2026, Isomorphic announced a $2.1 billion round -- again led by Thrive Capital, with Alphabet itself, Temasek, Capital G, and the UK Sovereign AI Fund all participating -- which BioSpace's PitchBook-sourced analysis called the second-largest biotech funding round ever, trailing only Altos Labs's $3 billion raise in 2022.
Neither round disclosed a valuation. PitchBook analyst Ben Zercher told BioSpace that Isomorphic's ability to raise at that scale without a disclosed pipeline molecule reflects its 'Alphabet backing and Google DeepMind halo' more than typical biotech investing criteria, which have otherwise shifted toward more clinically advanced, de-risked programs.
A CEO who just said he's doing more of this, not less
On August 5, 2026, Alphabet announced a reshuffle of its AI leadership: Hassabis gave up the CEO title at Google DeepMind to become the unit's chairman and Alphabet's chief scientist, with deputy Koray Kavukcuoglu taking over daily operations and reporting directly to Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai. In a note to staff reported by Fortune, Hassabis said he would spend more time at Isomorphic Labs, which he has called the top application of AI for improving human health; Axios reported separately that Hassabis 'will also add the title of chief scientist for Google parent company Alphabet and also continue to lead Isomorphic Labs.'
That is the opposite of the signal a founder typically sends ahead of spinning off or separately listing a company: rather than stepping back from Isomorphic to prepare it for independence, its CEO is stepping toward it. Nothing here substitutes for a filing, and any specific 'Isomorphic Labs IPO date' circulating online remains speculation with no public statement, spin-off announcement, or S-1 behind it.