Andrey Doronichev's biotech startup, Bioptic, is considering an IPO

The startup Bioptic, co-founded and led by former Google executive Andrei Doronichev, is considering an IPO as one of the possible paths for the project’s development. Doronichev himself discussed this in an interview with Oninvest.

"Yes, we're keeping that scenario in mind. An IPO is a good way to make the shares liquid," he said.

The Optic project launched in 2022 as a service for detecting digital fakes in the cryptocurrency market. But just a year later, the startup team realized it was time to change its business model. As a result of this strategic shift, the Bioptic project was launched, which aims to accelerate drug development using AI.

In 2026, the company filed a patent application for an algorithm for ultra-fast AI-based target screening to combat Parkinson's disease. In collaboration with Xinnan Wang’s laboratory at Stanford University, Bioptic identified compounds that demonstrated efficacy on neurons from actual patients with Friedreich’s ataxia—a rare inherited genetic disorder. The research findings were published in *Cell Chemical Biology*.

Doronichev's startup is currently raising a new round of funding in the venture capital market.

"We're a startup focused on challenges at the intersection of AI and the pharmaceutical industry. If we approach funds that work with the tech sector, they’ll start comparing us to all the other AI startups—for example, those that use AI to generate, say, content and make their first million within the first three months. But biotech investors will meticulously examine, for example, how many publications and molecules you have. We’ll face challenges in investment committees in both sectors,” he noted.

According to Doronichev, Bioptic is leaning toward venture capital investors who specialize in biotech and pharma. “We need a new lead investor with expertise in the pharmaceutical industry who can help us grow, open the right doors, and attract major clients from the industry,” he added.

In 2022, the company raised $11 million in a seed round for Optic. Its investors included well-known U.S. venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins and Greylock Partners, as well as leaders in crypto investing and Web3, Pantera Capital and Polygon Labs.

As of the end of 2025, the analytics platform CB Insights valued Optic at approximately $59.7 million, with an estimated annual recurring revenue (ARR) of about $19.9 million.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor