Exscientia

AI drug discovery biotechUK

New to Unitard

🤝 Acquired

Peak $3.2 BillionToday

~-81%

from peak

🦄
Became a unicorn
Oct 2021
📈
Peak valuation
$3.2 Billion ’21
💔
Became a Unitard
2022
💸
Last valuation
~$618M

Current status

Acquired by Recursion Pharmaceuticals in an all-stock scheme of arrangement (announced Aug 8, 2024; completed Nov 20, 2024); Nasdaq ADSs (EXAI) delisted; operates as a Recursion subsidiary

The rise & fall

9 moments · 2012–2025

The key moments, with employee sentiment along the way.

2012

Spun out of the University of Dundee by Andrew Hopkins

The professor of medicinal informatics sets out to automate drug design with AI.

PharmaTimes

Jan 30 ’20

DSP-1181 enters trials, billed as the first AI-designed drug

Designed with Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma for OCD; Exscientia says the project took 12 months instead of the usual five years.

pharmaphorum

Apr 27 ’21

$225M Series D led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2

SoftBank adds a $300M equity commitment Exscientia can draw at its discretion; Novo Holdings and BlackRock funds also invest. No valuation is disclosed.

BioSpace

Oct 1 ’21

The peak: Nasdaq debut closes at $27.10, over $3.2B$3.2B

The IPO priced at $22 per ADS on Sept 30, raising $304.7M plus $160M in private placements with SoftBank and the Gates Foundation.

Global Venturing

Jan 7 ’22

Sanofi deal: $100M upfront, up to ~$5.2B in milestones

The collaboration covers up to 15 small-molecule candidates in oncology and immunology.

Exscientia 6-K

Dec 2022

Market value ends 2022 at about $0.65B$650M

Down from about $2.37B at the end of 2021.

CompaniesMarketCap

Aug 8 ’24

Recursion agrees an all-stock deal Reuters values at $688M$688M

Each Exscientia share is to become 0.7729 Recursion shares; the combined company expects about $850M in cash.

BiopharmaTrend (Reuters)

Nov 20 ’24

Recursion completes the deal at ~$617M — joins the Unitard Club 💔$617M

About 102.1M Recursion shares are issued, valued at $616.9M at that day's $6.04 close; Exscientia's ADSs leave Nasdaq.

Recursion 10-K

2023–25

From the inside · Glassdoor reviews, 2023–25

Glassdoor reviewers described repeated reorganizations and shifting strategy from late 2023, while still praising colleagues and benefits. Average ratings fell from 4.7 (2021–23) to 3.5 (2024–25).

💬 entries paraphrase anonymous, unverified reviews posted publicly on Glassdoor ↗; dated facts carry their source.

How it happened

Exscientia was spun out of the University of Dundee in 2012 by professor Andrew Hopkins to design drug candidates with AI. In January 2020 it said DSP-1181, designed with Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, was the first AI-designed drug to enter human trials.

After a $225M Series D led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 in April 2021, it listed on Nasdaq that October at $22 a share. The stock closed its first day at $27.10, a value Global Venturing put at more than $3.2B. The shares slid through 2022, leaving it worth about $0.65B by year-end.

Recursion agreed in August 2024 to buy Exscientia in an all-stock deal that Reuters valued at $688M. When it closed on November 20, 2024, Recursion's filings valued the shares issued at about $617M.

Source: Exscientia release (Sept 30, 2021): IPO of 13.85M ADSs at $22 ($304.7M) plus $160M private placements with SoftBank and the Gates Foundation; trading began Oct 1, 2021. Global Venturing (Oct 4, 2021): shares closed at $27.10 on the first day, a market capitalisation of more than $3.2B (peak keyed to it; companiesmarketcap lists $27.10 as the highest close; $22 IPO price x 120.9M shares at Dec 31, 2021 = about $2.66B; year-end 2021 about $2.37B). BioSpace (Apr 27, 2021): $225M Series D led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, valuation not disclosed. Reuters via BiopharmaTrend (Aug 8, 2024): Recursion to buy Exscientia for $688M in stock at 0.7729 RXRX per share. Recursion FY2024 10-K: closed Nov 20, 2024; about 102.1M Recursion shares issued, valued at $616.9M at the $6.04 closing price (plus $13.2M of replacement awards, $630.1M total); the drop is keyed to the $616.9M equity value at close.