Fundraising Fox
🦊/Companies
Sign in

Cradle

Amsterdam, NL · Founded 2021 · 132 employees on LinkedIn · 3 known investors

Find your way into Cradle

348 people in our graph share verified history with the Cradle team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Martijn Kleijwegtunlockedknows Jelle Prins · together at University of Amsterdam (overlapped)
×5knows the team · via University of Groningen
×2knows the team · via Cradle
×4knows the team · via New York University

Cradle uses AI to help scientists design and engineer proteins, decoding and rewriting biology to develop new food sources, materials, and therapeutics. It serves research scientists and offers models validated in its own lab before delivery to customers.

AI & Machine LearningBiotechDeep TechEnterprise Software

Founders & leadership

Cradle was founded in 2021 by Stef van Grieken, Eli Bixby, and Jelle Prins.

SVStef van Grieken
Stef van GriekeninCo-Founder & CEOStef van Grieken previously worked as a Senior Product Manager for Google AI (Brain), leading large teams and projects across Europe and the United States with expertise in machine learning, mapping, operating systems, and transportation. He is the founder of Cradle, which combines AI and wet lab validation to help scientists design proteins for applications ranging from therapeutics to sustainable materials.
EB
Eli BixbyinCo-Founder and Senior ML Engineer
JPJelle Prins
Jelle PrinsinCo-FounderJelle Prins previously worked on app design for Uber, Booking.com, and CataWiki before founding Cradle, which develops AI tools for protein design and engineering.

Board

CF
Claus Fuglsang CroneChief Scientific Officer, Novonesis

Investors · 3

Index Ventures✓ verifiedSan Francisco · $540K – $10.8M
IVP (Institutional Venture Partners)San Francisco · $15M – $75M
Kindred CapitalLondon

Funding

SEC filings, press & company announcements

Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.

Founder mafia

2 people who came through Cradle went on to found or lead other companies.

Leila ZegnaBoard DirectorFounded KindredNick LentenAdvisor & InvestorFounded Ahead Health

Competitors · 2

by search overlap
Index Ventures7 shared keywordsNewCore is a security-focused identity platform built from the ground up to support humans, machines, and AI agents under a unified architecture. The platform addresses modern enterprise security by treating identity as the control plane rather than infrastructure, replacing legacy protocols designed for web app authentication with agent-native solutions and hardware-bound verification.
Until Labs7 shared keywordsThe company builds technology focused on improving patient outcomes in healthcare.

Companies competing with Cradle for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.

In the news

Malaysia's Cradle Fund opens registration for startup summit, targets growth opportunities, investment trends - TNGlobaltechnode.global · Aug 2026Cradle Fund launches $2.53M elevate & startup accelerator program to spur early-stage growth - TNGlobaltechnode.global · Apr 2026Cradle raises US$73 million | S-GEs-ge.com · Nov 2025Cradle Raises $73M for Gen-AI Protein Engineeringbiopharmatrend.com · Nov 2024Cradle raises $24M in Series A funding for Generative AI biotech platform - Tech Startupstechstartups.com · Nov 2023Cradle Raises $5.5M in Fundingfinsmes.com · Nov 2022

Frequently asked questions

What does Cradle do?
Cradle uses AI to help scientists design and engineer proteins, decoding and rewriting biology to develop new food sources, materials, and therapeutics. It serves research scientists and offers models validated in its own lab before delivery to customers.
Who founded Cradle?
Cradle was founded by Stef van Grieken, Eli Bixby, Jelle Prins in 2021.
Who are Cradle's investors?
Cradle's investors include Index Ventures, IVP (Institutional Venture Partners), Kindred Capital.
Where is Cradle headquartered?
Cradle is headquartered in Amsterdam, NL.