Xunjing Bio (寻鲸生科)

Beijing startup from Tsinghua and Peking University labs, combining RNA structure probing with AI to find RNA-targeting small molecules.

1. Core Product / Service

Xunjing Bio (寻鲸生科（北京）智能技术有限公司) was registered on 11 April 2023 in Daxing, Beijing [2]. It develops small molecules that bind RNA rather than proteins, which opens up targets that conventional small-molecule drugs cannot reach. It starts with rare diseases and cancer [1].

The company describes three platforms [1]:

• RNA structure data platform — large-scale experimental probing of RNA structure. This builds on co-founder Zhang Qiangfeng's RNA structuromics work.
• High-throughput screening platform for RNA-targeting small molecules.
• AI platform for modeling RNA–small-molecule interactions.

Pipeline. The company says it is advancing "several original drug programs" [1]. Names, targets and stages have not been disclosed, and no update after the 2023 angel round was found in public sources.

Wet-lab model: in-house, by the company's description. The structure-probing and screening platforms are presented as the company's own [1], which fits the founders' experimental-biology background: RNA structure probing is a wet-lab technique. The angel round was used for "platform build-out and first in-house programs" [1]. Lab location, size and staffing are not disclosed, and whether chemistry is outsourced to CROs is unknown.

2. Target Users & Pain Points

• Patients with rare diseases and cancers driven by RNA (splicing defects, toxic repeat RNAs, undruggable proteins addressed through their mRNA).
• The core technical problem: RNA is flexible, and good structural and binding data are scarce. AI models for RNA–ligand binding are data-starved, so a company that generates its own RNA structure and screening data could have a real data advantage. That only holds if the platforms are as productive as described.

3. Competitive Landscape

4. Unique Observations

• Its moat would be data, not models. Founding RNA-structure scientists put the company in the "wet-first" camp, where proprietary probing data drives the AI. The opposite approach is to start from public data and AI models.
• It has been quiet since the 2023 seed. No new round, pipeline disclosure or partnership was found for 2024–2026. That may be stealth or slow fundraising; the public record cannot tell which.
• Its domestic peer is ahead. ReviR, an older RNA small-molecule company, reached an IND in January 2026. Xunjing has not disclosed a preclinical candidate.

5. Financials / Funding

• Angel round (Sept 2023): "tens of millions of RMB" [1].
  • Lead: Cowin Capital (同创伟业).
  • Followers: Beijing Shoufa's Tianji fund (首发展天玑基金), Innoangel (英诺天使) and the Tsinghua alumni fund (水木清华校友基金).
• Later rounds: none found for 2024–2026.
• Revenue: not disclosed.

6. People & Relationships

• Co-founders [1]:
  • 张强锋 (Zhang Qiangfeng), professor at Tsinghua University School of Life Sciences, known for RNA structuromics.
  • 汪阳明 (Wang Yangming), professor at Peking University's College of Future Technology.
• Investors: Cowin Capital, Tianji fund, Innoangel, Tsinghua alumni fund.
• Peers: byterna, aipher, insilico-medicine.

Sources

1. Pharnex Cloud (药融云), financing news — https://www.pharnexcloud.com/zixun/trz_7013
2. Pharnex Cloud, company financing record — https://www.pharnexcloud.com/trz/trz_45632ae62b36838fb71a42796e3f1bda
3. Pharnex Cloud — https://www.pharnexcloud.com/zixun/sx_7074
4. Cailian Press (ReviR IND) — https://www.cls.cn/detail/2296887