Novogaia
Entrepreneur First '24London, GB · Founded 2024 · 5 known investors
Novogaia develops novel medicines derived from fungi by using machine learning to identify drug-like molecular structures from natural samples and match them to targets addressing unmet medical needs.
Also known as Novogaia Inc.
Founders & leadership
Novogaia was founded in 2024 by Tess Bevers and David Kubanek.
Investors · 5
Also in the syndicate · 2
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Novogaia is a biotechnology company that uses machine learning to characterize fungal chemical space and identify drug-like molecular structures from natural samples. According to the company, it maps the molecules it discovers onto biologically and commercially de-risked targets in areas of unmet medical need, and states that its machine learning systems decode drug-like structures from natural samples better than the state of the art. In October 2025 the company published a post introducing "Gaia-01," described as decoding nature's molecules.
Earlier public descriptions frame the company's scope more broadly than pharmaceuticals: an EU-Startups directory entry describes a mission to accelerate discovery of natural products from fungi using machine learning and metabologenomics analysis to decode fungal biosynthetic pathways, with potential applications spanning food ingredients and agriculture. A 2024 investor commentary similarly described the company as aiming to use deep learning gene language models to unlock the remaining 90% of fungal biochemistry, and noted an initial focus on the agricultural industry because of lower entry barriers and greater openness to early-stage collaboration than pharmaceuticals. Third-party data providers categorize Novogaia under healthcare and life sciences with verticals including biotechnology, drug discovery, medical AI and machine learning platforms, and tag it with keywords such as natural product discovery, mass spectrometry, metabologenomics and autoimmunity therapeutics.
Founding story
Novogaia was founded by Tess Bevers, from the Netherlands, and David Kubanek, from the Czech Republic, who met and formed the company during an Entrepreneurs First London batch. Founding year is listed as 2024 by Caplight and 2023 by the EU-Startups directory.
Business model
Third-party data (Caplight) classifies Novogaia as a B2B business with a customer profile spanning revenue share, services and consulting, and government contracts. No revenue-generating products or commercial contracts are described in the available sources.
Traction
Limited public traction data. A 525% month-over-month increase in monthly website visitors to 394 was recorded in October 2024, and the company is reported to have begun gathering traction in the agricultural industry as a lower-barrier entry point relative to pharmaceuticals. No products, revenue, clinical programs or customers are documented in the sources.
Latest developments
The company introduced Gaia-01 on 27 October 2025 and is publicly recruiting for open roles via its website. Caplight records a seed round dated 1 January 2026 with Backed VC and Entrepreneurs First, without disclosed amount or valuation.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Named among fungi-focused health companies in a 2025 landscape of 290+ startups in the fungal economy, where it was assigned a Specter global rank of 611,658 and listed with no disclosed funding records at the time. A secondary-market data provider lists Kapoose Creek Bio, LifeMine Therapeutics and Hexagon Bio as its closest comparables by embedding similarity, and places the company in the top 25% of tracked companies by its proprietary momentum score.
Technology
Machine learning systems that decode drug-like molecular structures from natural fungal samples, described by the company as outperforming the state of the art, and used to rapidly characterize new fungal chemical space and map it to selected biological targets. Other sources reference metabologenomics analysis of fungal biosynthetic pathways, deep learning gene language models, and mass spectrometry-related capabilities. The company introduced a system or model named Gaia-01 in October 2025.
Go-to-market
One investor commentary states the company began pursuing traction in the agricultural industry, which it characterized as having lower entry barriers and being more open to early-stage collaborations than pharmaceuticals; current company material emphasizes mapping discoveries to de-risked pharmaceutical targets. Pharmaceutical partnerships appear among third-party descriptive keywords.
Sources indicate a focus on therapeutic targets in areas of unmet medical need, including autoimmunity, alongside earlier-stated applications in agriculture and food ingredients; one investor commentary notes early traction efforts in the agricultural industry. Pharmaceutical partnerships are listed among third-party keywords.
Geography
Sources conflict on location: the EU-Startups directory lists London, United Kingdom, while Caplight and a Specter-derived landscape list San Francisco, California. The company's legal entity appears on its website as Novogaia Inc.
History
Public records date the company's accelerator/incubator participation with Entrepreneurs First to 2024. A website traffic signal was recorded in October 2024. The company announced Gaia-01 in October 2025, and a seed round involving Backed VC and Entrepreneurs First is dated January 2026 by Caplight. The company's site displays a 2026 copyright notice for Novogaia Inc.
Risks & controversies
No controversies are reported in the available sources. Data limitations include conflicting founding years (2023 vs 2024) and headquarters locations (London vs San Francisco), undisclosed funding amounts, and a shift in stated focus between agriculture/food-ingredient natural products in earlier material and therapeutics in current company material.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 3
launches, deals, and filingsCaplight records a seed round as the company's last round, with Backed VC and Entrepreneurs First listed as investors; amount and valuation not disclosed.
Novogaia published a blog post announcing Gaia-01, described as decoding nature's molecules.
The founders formed the company during an Entrepreneurs First London batch; Specter records an undisclosed accelerator/incubator round dated 2024-01-01.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Novogaianovogaia.bio · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Novogaia do?
- Novogaia applies machine learning to fungal chemistry to discover drug-like molecules, starting with autoimmune disease targets.
- Who founded Novogaia?
- Novogaia was founded by Tess Bevers, David Kubanek in 2024.
- Who are Novogaia's investors?
- Novogaia's investors include Backed, Entrepreneur First, Transpose Platform Management.
- Where is Novogaia headquartered?
- Novogaia is headquartered in London, GB.