Bielefeld, February 18th, 2020. As part of an extended Series A financing round, NRW.BANK is investing in Semalytix with its venture fund. The Bielefeld-based startup has developed the artificial intelligence-based platform “Pharos” for the systematic research of patient needs. The aim is to improve future generations of drugs by recording patients’ treatment experience and uncovering any unknown side effects. The company plans to expand its software, improve performance, and further strengthen its market position with the investment.

“Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly important not only in the healthcare market,” says Michael Stölting, member of NEW.BANK's Board of Managing Directors. “With Semalytix, pharmaceutical companies are able to derive insights from global patient experiences with drugs. This of course then offers great potential in our current situation – just think of new vaccines that need to be tested. From our point of view, the company has great growth and scaling potential and fits perfectly into the portfolio of our venture fund.” NRW.BANK’s investment was preceded by a first Series A financing round in 2020 – Semalytix had already received investments of € 4.3 million.

“We are thrilled about the investment from NRW.BANK, which will allow us to further develop our business model and invest in company growth,” says founder and CEO of Semalytix Janik Jaskolski. “We believe in a disease-free future for all of humanity. Better understanding patients at all stages of their lives and understanding their needs in detail is an integral building block for this future. We know there is still infinite potential to drive data-driven innovation in healthcare to develop more patient-focused medicines and therapies.”

Semalytix puts the patient first

Semalytix’s intelligent software enables computers to read and understand texts. The software gathers voices from patient forums, social media and other online sources in everyday experiences with medications. The software then organizes the data in a way that it is useful for the pharmaceutical industry. The software masters eight different languages and can map in real time as to how much a disease affects the lives of those affected. Additionally, the software can track these changes and map how the experience changes over time. The results serve as a basis for further development of drugs and treatment methods.

Semalytix customers include many of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies worldwide. One of the larger customers being the global pharmaceutical giant, Boehringer Ingelheim.

About Semalytix:

Semalytix is a Bielefeld-based AI startup that discovers unknown patient needs and generates the deepest possible understanding of how people suffer from diseases. As the world’s first technology company Semalytix can use artificial intelligence to learn from the global patient experience and help improve patient care. Semalytix was founded in 2015 by CEO Janik Jaskolski, Philipp Cimiano & Matthias Hartung and currently employs 60 people from 24 countries.

About NRW.BANK:

NRW.BANK is the development bank for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The bank supports its owner, the state of North Rhein-Westphalia, in all of its structural and economic policy tasks. NRW.BANK uses a broad range of development instruments: from low-interest development loans to equity financing and advisory services. Its equity capital products are largely geared toward the life cycle of the company. The NRW.BANK Venture Fund strengthens the equity of young, innovative companies, thus creating a strong basis for growth.

For more information: www.nrwbank.de, www.semalytix.com

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Caroline Gesatzki
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