PomegraWhiteLab Genomics closed a $26 million Series B led by AVP to push AI-designed gene delivery vehicles into living-system validation, with valuation undisclosed.
Key Takeaways
- WhiteLab Genomics raised a $26M (€23.2M) Series B led by AVP, announced October 6, 2026.
- Yaday Health and Blast Club joined; Omnes Capital and Debiopharm Innovation Fund returned.
- The round is about 2.6 times the $10M Series A of September 2022. Valuation is undisclosed.
Lead
WhiteLab Genomics, a Paris-based company that uses AI to design the delivery components of genetic medicines, announced a $26 million (€23.2 million) Series B on October 6, 2026. AVP led the round. New investors Yaday Health and Blast Club joined, and existing backers Omnes Capital and Debiopharm Innovation Fund participated again. The company did not disclose a valuation.
AVP managing partner François Robinet and Daniel Teper, managing partner of Yaday Health and founder and CEO of NAYA Therapeutics, are joining the board. The money is earmarked for in vivo validation programs and for commercial expansion in North America, Europe and Asia.
What Does WhiteLab Genomics Actually Build?
WhiteLab builds bio-assets: the viral and non-viral vectors, lipid nanoparticles and synthetic promoters that carry a genetic payload into the right cells. Delivery remains one of the main bottlenecks in genomic medicine, because a well-designed gene therapy still fails if it cannot reach its target tissue safely.
The company's platform, called ALFRED (AI-Led Framework for Rational Exploration in Drug Design), generates candidate designs computationally, then runs them through experimental and in vivo testing. Its focus is on AAV capsids and non-viral delivery systems, along with programmable payloads.
One reported result: AI-designed AAVs crossed the blood-brain barrier with a liver signal 1,000 times lower than comparable profiles. Low liver uptake matters because liver toxicity has been a recurring safety problem for high-dose AAV therapies.
How Does the Company Make Money?
WhiteLab owns and licenses its assets, and it also runs multiyear co-development deals with milestone payments and royalties. CEO and co-founder David Del Bourgo said the goal is "a portfolio of validated assets that WhiteLab can own and license," and that expanding it is a principal objective.
The company reports more than 15 active programs. Named partners include Sanofi, Cytiva (a Danaher company), Paris Brain Institute and Institut Imagine. Neurological indications, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, ALS, lysosomal storage diseases and glioblastoma, are the stated focus.
What Does the Round Say About the Last One?
The round shows steady scaling, not a re-rating. WhiteLab raised its $10 million Series A in September 2022, co-led by Omnes Capital and Debiopharm Innovation Fund. The Series B is 2.6 times that size and arrives four years later, a long gap for a company founded in 2019 by Del Bourgo and Julien Cottineau.
Both Series A leads returned, which is a mild signal of confidence. The new lead, AVP, brings a fresh check, and the board seats go to AVP and Yaday Health instead of the incumbents. The company cites more than two years of financial visibility, and a Series C or a large partnership would likely be needed after that.
The round also sits at the modest end of AI-drug-discovery financing. WhiteLab's pitch rests on a narrower problem than whole-pipeline AI discovery, which may suit investors wary of broad claims.
Why Does In Vivo Validation Matter?
In vivo validation matters because computational designs often look strong in silico and then fail in animals. Del Bourgo framed it directly: "AI can help us design better genomic medicines, but what ultimately matters is whether those designs work in living systems."
That is also the test for the business. Licensing revenue depends on partners seeing reproducible results in their own models, and on assets that survive manufacturing and regulatory scrutiny. Capsid engineering is crowded, with established players and well-funded rivals, so differentiation will come from data on tissue specificity and safety, not from the AI label.
Outlook
WhiteLab enters the next two years with fresh capital, a diversified partner list and one concrete preclinical result in blood-brain barrier delivery. The measurable milestones are further in vivo datasets, new licensing or co-development agreements, and the pace of its expansion outside France. Without a disclosed valuation or revenue figures, outside observers have limited means to judge how much of the Series B reflects traction and how much reflects the sector's appetite for delivery technology.