BioNTech has made its largest acquisition to date through its acquisition of InstaDeep, for GBP 362mn in cash and company shares—this excludes the shares already owned by the company following its investment in the Tunisian-born company’s series B round in January 2022.
Furthermore, InstaDeep shareholders will be eligible to receive additional performance-based future milestone payments of up to GBP 200mn.
The acquisition of InstaDeep allows us to incorporate the rapidly evolving AI capabilities of the digital world into our technologies, research, drug discovery, manufacturing, and deployment processes. Our aim is to make BioNTech a technology company where AI is seamlessly integrated into all aspects of our work.
Ugur Sahin M.D., CEO & Co-founder of BioNTech
The acquisition aligns with the company’s strategy to build capabilities in AI-driven drug discovery and development. And combining the two organisations adds approx. 240 skilled individuals to the company’s workforce. It will also grow its global network and expand its footprint in across the US, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Early investors in the enterprise AI startup which raised USD 7mn in series A funding in 2019 were AfricInvest and Endeavor Catalyst.