Paris Startup Rivercell Raises $25M to Build AI Virtual Cells

Jan de Vries · 2026-10-07

Imagine if we could predict how your cells respond to a drug before you ever take it. That's the bold vision behind Rivercell, a Paris-based biotech and AI company that just stepped out of stealth with a $25 million (€22 million) seed round. The round was led by HV, with backing from HCVC, Alven, and Bpifrance Digital Venture. That cash will fuel three big things: scaling up Rivercell's proprietary data-generation platform, expanding its wet lab in Paris (a wet lab is where scientists handle chemicals and biological samples), and launching its AI Virtual Cell program. ### Why a World Model of the Cell Could Change Medicine Yann Fleureau, co-founder and CEO of Rivercell, doesn't mince words: "A world model of the cell is the opportunity of the century in medicine," he says. "The missing piece is data: how cells change over time and under treatment, seen through multiple lenses and at multiple layers, captured at scale." In plain English, they're building a massive data engine that watches cells react to drugs and genetic tweaks in real time. Then they train an AI to simulate those reactions. The goal? Cut down the need for slow, expensive lab experiments. ### The Money Flowing Into AI Drug Discovery Rivercell isn't alone. European startups are raking in cash for AI-driven drug discovery. This year alone, EU-Startups has tracked around $109 million (€100.7 million) across similar deals: - **Adaptyv Bio** (Lausanne) raised $37 million (€34.35 million) Series A for an automated AI-native wet lab. - **Helical** (London) secured $9.1 million (€8.4 million) seed for its virtual AI lab. - **Sightera Biosciences** (Antwerp) got $3.3 million (€3 million) pre-seed for an AI drug-discovery platform trained on patient-derived data. - **Generare** (Paris) raised $21.7 million (€20 million) to scale its molecular-data platform. - **WhiteLab Genomics** secured $25.2 million (€23.2 million) to expand its AI-driven genomic-medicine platform. Clearly, investors are betting big on the combo of biological data, computational models, and experimental validation. ### A Full-Stack Approach to Predicting Cell Behavior Maxi Pethö-Schramm, Principal at HV, explains it well: "AI is already rewriting how we understand the chemistry of life, from protein structure to molecular design. The next frontier is predicting how cells behave, and that requires a full-stack approach that combines a novel platform, automated wet labs, and world models." Rivercell's platform generates interventional, time-resolved, multimodal single-cell data at scale. That's a mouthful, but it means they capture how cells change over time under different conditions, using multiple measurement types. This data trains their "AI virtual cell" (AIVC) model, which predicts how human cells respond to drugs or genetic changes in silico (on a computer). ### The Team Behind the Vision Yann Fleureau is a serial entrepreneur. He previously co-founded Cardiologs, an AI diagnostics company that raised several rounds before Philips acquired it for a nine-figure sum in 2021. Eric Durand, the other co-founder, was director of oncology data science at Novartis and Chief Data Science Officer at Owkin. He also co-founded Bioptimus, a bio foundation model company that raised $76 million (€67 million). Together, they bring deep expertise in both AI and biology. And with a foot in Paris's AI ecosystem and Basel's pharma cluster, Rivercell is positioned to lead the charge. ### What This Means for Drug Discovery Developing a single drug can take years and cost a fortune. The industry reportedly invests nearly $300 billion (€268 billion) in R&D every year. If Rivercell's AI virtual cells can accurately predict cell responses, it could speed up drug discovery and slash costs. As Fleureau puts it, "Building that data engine in Europe is strategic, not only for Rivercell but for the continent's place in AI and biology." So keep an eye on this space. The future of medicine might just be simulated.