AI-Powered Innovation: Albert Invent’s Platform Revolutionizes Chemical Research
In a move that could shake up the chemicals industry, startup Albert Invent has secured a $22.5 million Series A funding round to advance its AI-powered platform. The platform, dubbed Albert Breakthrough, aims to streamline the research and development process for chemical companies, allowing them to create new products more quickly and efficiently.
Albert Invent’s founders, Nick Talken and Ken Kisner, previously ran a successful 3D printing company, which gave them a deep understanding of materials science. They have now applied that expertise to the chemicals sector, training their proprietary AI models on a vast dataset of over 15 million chemical structures.
The platform combines this structured data with advanced machine learning algorithms, enabling chemists to interrogate molecular-level information when formulating new chemicals. According to the company, this can lead to faster development times and even “outperform” standard industry models when it comes to predicting toxicology.
“This is a SaaS product that’s being used by the largest chemical companies in the world to reinvent the physical world fundamentally,” said CEO Nick Talken. “The biggest problem we face as a society, from sustainability to personalized medical devices — all those are going to be solved through chemistry.”
The platform has already attracted a roster of high-profile clients, including Chemours, Solenis, Keystone Industries, Applied Molecules, Henkel, and Nouryon. Nouryon’s CTO, Johan Landfors, praised the platform as integral to their product development process.
With the new funding, Albert Invent plans to further expand its AI capabilities and reach within the chemicals sector. The investment was led by Coatue, with participation from existing investors Index Ventures, TCV, F-Prime, and Homebrew.
“It is exciting to support Albert as the company seeks to transform how chemistry research is performed by implementing the latest AI technology for greater efficiencies and overall business benefit,” said David Schneider, general partner at Coatue.
As the chemicals industry grapples with the challenge of developing innovative, sustainable products, Albert Invent’s AI platform could prove to be a game-changer, accelerating the pace of research and unlocking new avenues for breakthroughs.
