DFJ leads Verge Genomics' $32M series A round

Neuroscience company Verge Genomics Inc. (San Francisco, Calif.) raised $32 million in a series A round led by DFJ. New investors included the corporate venture fund of WuXi AppTec Co. Ltd. (Shanghai:603259), ALS Investment Fund, Agent Capital, and OS Fund. Existing investors Y Combinator, Draper Associates and LifeForce Capital also participated.

Verge uses artificial intelligence to guide neuroscience drug discovery. By sorting through epigenomic, transcriptomic and functional genomic data to map molecular networks tied to neurological diseases, the company aims to find clusters of genes that are co-regulated. It then validates potential master regulators of those genes via experiments in disease models, and screens small molecule libraries to choose and optimize candidates (see "Network Intelligence")...