Tech & AI
Pathos AI raises $237 million at about $3 billion valuation in round led by Bristol Myers Squibb, as Tempus signs $192.5 million of data deals
The drug-development AI firm will analyse neurology patient records from Tempus, while Bristol Myers gains exclusive use of its platform for neuroscience programmes.
HedgeWeekly Tech & AI Desk ·
Pathos AI, a New York company that uses artificial intelligence to design and run drug programmes, said on October 23 it had raised $237 million in a Series E round led by Bristol Myers Squibb, with existing investors also taking part. The round values Pathos at about $3 billion. Alongside the funding, Pathos and Bristol Myers announced a collaboration with Tempus AI to build AI tools for Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders.
Tempus disclosed the commercial terms in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission the same day. Bristol Myers will pay Tempus $137.5 million in fixed quarterly instalments through 2031 to license de-identified oncology records, meaning patient data stripped of identifying details, and to use Tempus's Lens software. Pathos will pay up to $55 million over about five years for up to 500,000 de-identified neurology records, at $100 per record plus $5 million for updates. Together the deals are worth about $192.5 million to Tempus.
Pathos will run the neurology data through its Pathos Foundry platform to test ideas about disease biology and help design more targeted clinical trials. Bristol Myers receives non-exclusive access to the platform across its portfolio and three years of exclusive rights for its neuroscience development work. Tempus said in its filing that it and Pathos share executive leadership and equity ownership, so a special committee of independent directors approved the agreement. Pathos said the new money will also fund its cancer pipeline, including the experimental drug JSKN016.
Why it matters: drugmakers are increasingly paying for curated patient data and AI analysis rather than building the capability in-house, and this deal puts hard numbers on that market. For Tempus, the contracts add multi-year, largely fixed revenue from a large pharmaceutical customer. The round also shows private investors still backing AI drug-discovery companies at multi-billion-dollar valuations, even as public AI stocks sold off this week. Investors will watch how quickly Tempus can deliver the neurology records, since its payments from Pathos depend on delivery.