Abu Dhabi technology investment firm MGX has joined a $2.1 billion Series B funding round for Isomorphic Labs, the UK-based artificial-intelligence drug-design company spun out of Alphabet's DeepMind (per Zawya and Gulf Economist).
Inside the round
The round was led by Thrive Capital, with continued backing from Alphabet and Google Ventures, and new participation from Singapore's Temasek, Alphabet's late-stage arm CapitalG and the UK Sovereign AI Fund (per Zawya). Tech Funding News reports it is one of the largest private rounds raised by an AI biotech company to date.
For MGX, which was launched in 2024 as Abu Dhabi's dedicated AI investment platform, the deal marks its first move into AI-enabled drug discovery. The firm reviewed the Isomorphic Labs commitment alongside its earlier OpenAI investment during its second board meeting of 2026, according to Economy Middle East.
What Isomorphic Labs does
Isomorphic Labs uses proprietary AI models, including technology derived from DeepMind's AlphaFold protein-structure work, to identify viable drug candidates and accelerate development across multiple disease areas (per Tech Funding News). The company says the new capital will fund global expansion, additional hiring and continued work on its AI drug-design engine.
Why it matters for Abu Dhabi
MGX is chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan and has rapidly become one of the most active sovereign-linked AI investors in the world, with stakes in firms ranging from OpenAI to data-center operators. Its arrival in life-sciences AI extends Abu Dhabi's strategy of placing capital across the full AI value chain, from compute and foundation models to applied verticals.
Isomorphic Labs has not disclosed MGX's exact ticket size within the round (per Waya). The Series B values the company at a level that puts it among the most capitalised AI-native drug-discovery firms globally, alongside players such as Recursion and Insitro.
Outlook
The investment lands during a period of heavy UAE deployment into AI research and infrastructure, and adds a healthcare-AI pillar to MGX's portfolio. Isomorphic Labs has signed partnerships with Eli Lilly and Novartis worth nearly $3 billion in milestone payments, and the new funding is expected to support its push toward bringing its own drug candidates into clinical trials.
