Medra Raises $52M, Partners With Genentech

Medra, a company building Physical AI Scientists, has raised $52 million in Series A funding and entered a new partnership with biotechnology leader Genentech. The round was led by Human Capital with participation from existing investors Neo, Lux Capital, and NFDG, alongside new backers including Catalio Capital Management, Menlo Ventures, 776, and Fusion Fund.

Medra’s platform unifies robotics, AI, and automated data generation into an end-to-end scientific engine. Its Physical AI autonomously runs lab experiments using the same tools human scientists use, while researchers communicate instructions in natural language. Complementing this is Scientific AI, which interprets experimental results and helps optimize methods. Together, the systems create a self-improving loop that continuously links predictions, experiment execution, and outcomes.

Through its partnership with Genentech, Medra will integrate with the company’s LIMS and machine learning infrastructure, enabling a closed-loop workflow: in-house predictions, automated experiments, and iterative optimization without human intervention. CEO and founder Michelle Lee said the goal is to make drug discovery vastly more efficient by reusing experimental data and connecting AI predictions directly to automated execution—reducing time, cost, and failure rates in therapeutic development.

The partnership comes as interest grows in autonomous science platforms. Lila Sciences, another entrant in this space, recently raised $350 million in Series A funding after earlier securing $200 million in seed financing. The company is building a full scientific superintelligence that generates hypotheses, designs experiments, and learns from results in fully automated labs.