Albert raises $55M Series B to scale chemistry-native AI
What's the deal? Albert, which builds a chemistry-native AI operating system for research and development, has raised a $55 million Series B led by TCV. New investors Delta-v CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Socium VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, HighSage VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Coral CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Legion VC joined alongside existing backers Coatue, J.P. Morgan Growth Equity PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Index Ventures, and Applied VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
What's the endgame? The Oakland-based startup wants to turn decades of lab data into faster product discovery. It will use the funding to expand its AI capabilities and shorten development cycles for the everyday products used by billions of people.
Why now? Companies developing chemicals and materials face shifting safety rules, supply chain disruptions, and pressure for faster timelines. Albert argues general-purpose models fail at specialized science, where formulations and materials can look identical in language but behave very differently in practice.
What's new? Alongside the round, Albert says its chemistry-native model, Valence, is 45 times more accurate than general-purpose AI at retrieving correct answers to scientific queries, according to new research. It has also released a formulation chemistry benchmark called FormBench. Partners include AkzoNobelDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, BASF, CloroxDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Henkel, and KenvueDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
What the founder says: "Enterprise AI for chemistry has to be built from the ontology up; the language, data, workflows, and decisions for R&D are deeply specialized," said Nick Talken, chief executive officer and co-founder of Albert.
What the investor says: "R&D in chemistry still runs largely on spreadsheets and institutional memory," said Morgan Gerlack, partner at TCV. "Albert turns decades of lab data into faster discovery, and it represents what we think the future of vertical AI should look like."
The signal: At $55 million, the round sits in the 91st percentile of US enterprise software Series B deals on record, a sign of investor appetite for vertical AI built for narrow, high-stakes industries rather than general-purpose models.
Read more: finance.yahoo.com
Image credit: U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command
