Biontech buys start-up

The Mainz-based company has announced its intention to acquire the London-based company Instadeep.

Every child knows the Mainz-based company Biontech from its Covid vaccine. The company also conducts research in completely different areas, such as developing drugs to fight cancer. It has now announced that it is taking over the London-based technology company Instadeep.

The investment is made up as follows: Instadeep will receive an upfront payment of around 362 million British pounds and Biontech shares to acquire 100 percent of the shares in Instadeep. Biontech already holds shares in the company and invested as part of Instadeep's Series B financing round in January 2022. Instadeep shareholders are also entitled to additional performance-related payments of up to around 200 million pounds.

The exciting thing is that Instadeep is considered one of the leading technology companies in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). Biotech has set itself the goal of "building world-leading capabilities in AI-driven drug discovery and the development of next-generation immunotherapies and vaccines to address diseases with high unmet medical needs."

"The acquisition of Instadeep enables us to incorporate the rapidly evolving AI capabilities of the digital world into our technologies, drug discovery, manufacturing and delivery operations," said Biontech's renowned CEO Ugur Sahin. "Our goal is to make Biontech a technology company where AI is seamlessly integrated into all aspects of our work."

The acquisition is expected to increase Biontech's workforce by around 240 specialists. These include teams in the fields of AI, ML, bioengineering, data science and software development. In connection with the acquisition, Biontech intends to expand its network in this area and increase its presence in the United States, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The two companies have been working together since 2019.