BioMap (百图生科)
Beijing life-science foundation-model company founded by Baidu's Robin Li, selling xTrimo-based discovery modules to pharma and preparing a Hong Kong IPO.
1. Core Product / Service
BioMap was founded in August 2020 by Robin Li (李彦宏, chairman) and Liu Wei (刘维, former CEO of Baidu Ventures). It was an independent company from day one rather than a Baidu division [1][2]. Its core asset is the xTrimo model family: V1 (2022), V2 (2023), V3 (2024, 210B parameters) and V4 at 268B parameters, trained across genomes, proteins and cells [1][2]. On top sits BioMap OS, a model-driven discovery system the company says was validated in 60+ proof-of-concept projects covering target discovery and antibody development [1]. Its perturbation model (xTrimoScPerturb) placed first in the 2025 Arc Institute Virtual Cell Challenge among 1,200+ teams, although the organizers noted models still did not consistently beat naive baselines on every metric [2][3].
2. Target Users & Pain Points
- Global pharma seeking foundation-model modules for biologics design (Sanofi).
- Chinese biotechs and institutions: the company claims 800+ institutional users and 30+ leading enterprise clients [1].
- Academic projects via the BioMap BioX program in Hong Kong (50+ early projects over five years) [2].
Business model. BioMap sells three ways. (1) Co-development/module deals with milestones: the October 2023 Sanofi agreement paid a US$10M upfront to co-build AI modules for biologics, with total potential value above US$1B in milestones [4][5]. (2) Platform/model access for enterprise and institutional users (pricing undisclosed). (3) Asset NewCos: in June 2026 it co-founded MegaStream TechBio with HBM Holdings (和铂医药), contributing xTrimo while HBM contributes its antibody platform and clinical know-how; founders share upfronts, success milestones and royalties [6]. The company has cited "potential orders" of US$2B, a figure with no disclosed basis [2]. Revenue and losses are undisclosed; its own pipeline is preclinical and unnamed [7].
Wet lab. BioMap built its own labs early: it was already setting up in-house labs in 2021 and opened a Beijing central lab in 2022 [8]. It describes a dry–wet "data flywheel" using high-throughput experiments, and MegaStream adds an integrated dry–wet discovery lab [6]. Lab size and throughput are not public.
3. Competitive Landscape
| Player | Positioning | Vs. BioMap |
|---|---|---|
| insilico-medicine / xtalpi | Listed Chinese AI-drug companies | Both earn from assets/services with clinical or revenue proof; BioMap still pre-IPO |
| moleculemind / biogeometry | Protein-design platforms | Narrower, smaller; similar licensing model |
| isomorphic-labs | Big-tech-founded independent AI drug company | Structural analog; Isomorphic signed far larger pharma deals |
| evolutionary-scale | ESM protein language models | Global foundation-model peer, open-weights strategy |
4. Unique Observations
- A foundation-model company pricing like a platform but proving value through NewCos. Reviews of China AI-drug companies classify it as tool-leaning: funding is large, but no in-house pipeline is disclosed. The Sanofi deal is a module build (platform value), not an asset license, so the HBM NewCo is the first route to asset-level economics [7].
- Baidu exit before IPO. In September 2025 Robin Li and Baidu entities left the direct cap table, replaced by a holding company, read as pre-listing restructuring [1].
- User counts outpace disclosed revenue. "800+ institutions" and "US$2B potential orders" are self-reported; an IPO prospectus would be the first audited view.
- BioMap is also an investor in lab-robot startup hetan-ai.
5. Financials / Funding
- 2021, Series A: over US$100M, led by GGV Capital with Baidu, Legend Capital, BlueRun and others [2][7].
- Jun 2024, A+: led by Hong Kong Investment Corporation (港投公司), amount undisclosed; Hong Kong named as preferred listing venue [2].
- Total raised reported as above US$200M [9].
- Mar 2026: reported to have confidentially filed for a Hong Kong IPO with CICC, Morgan Stanley and UBS, seeking several hundred million USD [9]. No public prospectus seen as of 2026-10-14.
6. People & Relationships
- Founders: Robin Li (chairman), Liu Wei (CEO). AI lead Zhang Xiaoming (ex-Ant Group); chief AI scientist Li Ziqing (Westlake University) [2].
- Investors: GGV, Baidu, Legend Capital, BlueRun, Hong Kong Investment Corporation.
- Partners: Sanofi; HBM Holdings (MegaStream); Fudan University (EnTao-GPM DNA model) [1].
- Peers: insilico-medicine, xtalpi, moleculemind, biogeometry, isomorphic-labs.
Sources: [1] Yicai 2026-03; [2] Huxiu 2026-03; [3] Arc Virtual Cell Challenge 2025 recap; [4] BusinessWire 2023-10-10; [5] China AI-drug company review 2026-10-14; [6] HKEX:2142 announcement summary 2026-06-15; [7] China AI-drug company review 2026-10-14; [8] pedaily 2021-07; [9] Bloomberg via Tiger 2026-03.