Revolutionizing Drug Discovery: France’s Rivercell Secures €22 Million for AI-Powered Infrastructure

Rivercell, a cutting-edge BioTech and AI company based in Paris, has emerged from stealth mode with a significant €22 million ($25 million) Seed round investment. The company focuses on constructing its own cell-response data infrastructure and a revolutionary world model that anticipates how human cells will react to various treatments.

The Seed round, led by HV and joined by HCVC, Alven, and Bpifrance Digital Venture, will enable Rivercell to further develop its exclusive data generation platform, expand its wet lab in Paris, and introduce its AI Virtual Cell program.

Yann Fleureau, Rivercell’s co-founder and CEO, emphasizes the significance of developing a comprehensive data engine in Europe to advance the fields of AI and biology. He believes that creating a world model of the cell represents a groundbreaking opportunity in medicine, with the key missing element being detailed data on how cells evolve over time and in response to treatments.

The recent Seed round secured by Rivercell is part of a broader trend in Europe, where startups are harnessing AI, proprietary biological data, and automated experimentation to drive advancements in drug discovery and life sciences research. Other notable companies in this sector include Adaptyv Bio, Helical, and Sightera Biosciences.

Rivercell, founded in 2026, is dedicated to building a data engine and an AI model that can accurately predict how living cells will react to drugs and genetic modifications. The company’s unique platform generates extensive pre-training datasets to train its AI virtual cell model, which aims to simulate human cell responses in silico, reducing the need for physical wet-lab experiments.

Rivercell’s long-term goal is to revolutionize drug discovery by streamlining and accelerating the process. With the pharmaceutical industry investing billions in research and development each year, the potential impact of Rivercell’s technology on drug development is substantial.

Co-founder Yann Fleureau, an experienced entrepreneur in the AI diagnostics field, and data scientist Eric Durand, formerly of Novartis, bring a wealth of expertise to Rivercell. Their vision for the company has attracted the attention of industry experts like Dr. Charlotte Bunne, who sees the potential for AI virtual cells to reshape our understanding of biology.

Overall, Rivercell’s innovative approach to combining biological data generation, computational models, and experimental validation holds promise for advancing pharmaceutical research and development. With its focus on predictive modeling and AI simulation, Rivercell is poised to lead the way in transforming the intersection of AI and biology.