The TikTok parent spins off its AI-for-Science team into Anew Labs, attracting heavyweight Chinese investors for its first external round.
ByteDance just raised $290 million for a company most people didn’t know it had. Anew Labs, the TikTok parent’s AI drug discovery unit, closed its first external funding round at a post-money valuation of $1.5 billion, instantly minting a new unicorn in a sector where most startups spend years trying to cross that threshold.
The round was led by HSG (formerly Sequoia China), IDG Capital, and Hillhouse Investment, with 5Y Capital serving as a co-lead. Gaorong Ventures, Primavera, Boyu, SBP Group, and the state-backed Shanghai Future Industries Fund also participated.
From internal project to unicorn spinoff
Anew Labs traces its origins to an internal AI-for-Science team that ByteDance formed back in 2021. The unit operated under Liu Kai, who brought a venture capital background to a role that was squarely focused on applying machine learning to molecular biology.
The spin-off process accelerated in mid-2026. ByteDance transferred roughly 50 core personnel to Anew Labs, along with the technology stack and early-stage drug development assets the team had built.
ByteDance retains a 56% controlling stake in Anew Labs following the round. The parent company also continues providing computational support through its cloud infrastructure.
The tech behind the bet
What exactly is Anew Labs building? The company’s toolbox includes several proprietary AI models designed to accelerate different stages of drug discovery. Protenix and Seedfold handle molecular structure prediction, essentially trying to figure out how proteins fold and interact without waiting for expensive, time-consuming lab experiments. PXDesign tackles protein design, helping researchers engineer new therapeutic molecules from scratch.
Anew Labs has already moved beyond pure research. The company presented an IL-17 small-molecule inhibitor candidate in 2026, a drug target relevant to autoimmune diseases like psoriasis and ankylosing spondylitis.
Why this round stands out
The investor roster tells a story about conviction. HSG, IDG Capital, and Hillhouse are not spray-and-pray investors. Committing $290 million to a company’s very first external round is an unusually aggressive bet, particularly for a business that hasn’t yet brought a drug to clinical trials.
The $1.5 billion valuation also sets a new benchmark for how the market prices AI drug discovery companies at the pre-clinical stage. Anew Labs hit unicorn status on its first outside check.
