BioNTech SE plans to acquire Tunisian-founded, United Kingdom-based InstaDeep for up to £562 million (about $680 million). This will be BioNTech SE’s largest deal to date.
According to the Financial Times, the German vaccine manufacturer plans to employ the machine learning capabilities of InstaDeep to better its drug discovery process. This will include the development of personalised medicines that are targeted to a patient’s cancer.
According to the CEO of BioNTech, Uur Ahin, “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.”
BioNTech intends to apply computational techniques to generate tailored medications for people with cancer.
InstaDeep’s CEO, Beguir, said, “AI is progressing exponentially and our mission at InstaDeep has always been to make sure it benefits everyone. We are very excited to join forces and become one team with BioNTech, with whom we share the same culture of deep tech innovation and focus on positive human impact.”
“Together, we envision building a world leader that combines biopharmaceutical research and AI with the aim to design next-generation immunotherapies that enhance medical care — thus, helping fight cancer and other diseases,” he added.
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Background on the BioNTech-InstaDeep transaction
It is believed that BioNTech will pay an upfront sum of £362 million, which will be a combination of cash and an undisclosed amount of BioNTech shares.
InstaDeep’s future success will determine whether or not the company receives the remaining £200 million, according to a statement released by the company.
InstaDeep’s CEO, Beguir, discussed the company’s usage of reinforcement learning in an interview the previous year.
Reinforcement learning is a type of machine learning that assists in the formulation of optimization strategies and handles them simultaneously.
InstaDeep’s artificial intelligence technology has been put to use in a variety of contexts, including assisting a huge shipping corporation in effectively transporting thousands of containers to a railway station and automating the scheduling of 10,000 trains.
Other examples include the routing of components on a printed circuit board and the construction of sophisticated treatments using silicon.
A moonshot solution to automate railway scheduling is now being developed by the company in collaboration with Deutsche Bahn, which is the most important train operator in Europe.
In 2019, InstaDeep and BioNTech entered into a multi-year strategic relationship to construct a combined artificial intelligence innovation centre. Within this lab, the companies planned to use the most recent developments in AI and ML to create breakthrough immunotherapies.
Because of this long-term cooperation, InstaDeep has become the focal point of a growing portfolio of activities centred on artificial intelligence and machine learning at BioNTech. This acquisition is the consequence of that partnership.
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Some Info on InstaDeep
InstaDeep was established in 2014 by Karim Beguir and Zohra Slim. In January of last year, the company successfully raised $100 million as part of its Series B investment, which Alpha Intelligence Capital and CDIB sponsored. BioNTech was one of the participating investors, together with Chimera Abu Dhabi, DB Digital Ventures of Deutsche Bahn, and Google, among others.
Offices have been set up in Paris, Tunis, Lagos, Dubai, and Cape Town by an enterprise AI firm with headquarters in Tunis and London. The company uses advanced machine learning techniques to bring AI to apps that are used inside a business setting.
According to a statement released by the company, InstaDeep’s 240-person team will continue to offer its artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning services to other businesses, including Google and Nvidia.
It is anticipated that the deal between BioNTech and InstaDeep will be finalised within the first half of 2023, provided that the standard closing conditions are met and that regulatory approvals are obtained.