BioNTech Strengthens Pioneering Position in AI-Powered Drug Discovery, Design, and Development with Completion of InstaDeep Acquisition

At a glance

BioNTech has completed its acquisition of InstaDeep, a global technology company specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). The acquisition supports BioNTech's strategy to enhance its capabilities in AI-driven drug discovery and the development of immunotherapies and vaccines. InstaDeep will operate as a UK-based subsidiary of BioNTech and will continue to provide services to clients in various industries. The acquisition adds approximately 290 professionals to BioNTech's workforce. The total consideration for the acquisition amounts to approximately €500 million in cash, BioNTech shares, and future milestone payments. InstaDeep has been recognized as one of the most innovative AI companies globally.


MAINZ, Germany – BioNTech SE (Nasdaq: BNTX, “BioNTech” or “the Company”) announced today the completion of the acquisition of InstaDeep Ltd. (“InstaDeep”), a leading global technology company in the field of artificial intelligence (“AI”) and machine learning (“ML”). The acquisition was announced on January 10, 2023 and follows a track record of increasing collaboration between the two companies since 2019 as well as BioNTech’s initial equity investment as part of InstaDeep’s Series B financing round in January 2022.

The acquisition supports BioNTech’s strategy, aiming to build world-leading capabilities in AI-driven drug discovery and development of next-generation immunotherapies and vaccines to address diseases with high unmet medical need. InstaDeep will operate as a UK-based global subsidiary of BioNTech. In addition to BioNTech-focused projects, InstaDeep will continue to provide its services to clients around the world in diverse industries, including in the Technology, Transport & Logistics, Industrial, and Financial Services sectors. The transaction adds approximately 290 highly skilled professionals to BioNTech’s workforce, including teams in AI, ML, bioengineering, data science, and software development.

The total consideration to acquire the remaining InstaDeep shares, excluding the shares already owned by BioNTech, amounts to approximately €500 million in cash, BioNTech shares, and performance-based future milestone payments.

About InstaDeep

InstaDeep is a leader in decision-making AI systems with headquarters in London, and offices in Paris, Tunis, Lagos, Dubai, Cape Town, Berlin, Boston and San Francisco. InstaDeep was founded in 2014 in North Africa and has been named for three consecutive years to CB Insights’ influential AI 100 ranking, which showcases the 100 most innovative private artificial intelligence companies in the world. It was also named in 2022 as one of Europe’s 100 most promising B2B companies by the Financial Times-backed media site Sifted. With expertise in both machine intelligence research and concrete business deployments, InstaDeep gives its partners a competitive advantage in an AI-first world. Leveraging its extensive know-how in GPU-accelerated computing, deep learning and reinforcement learning, InstaDeep products, such as its DeepChainTM protein design platform, tackle the most complex challenges across a range of industries. InstaDeep has also developed collaborations with global leaders in the AI ecosystem, such as Nvidia and Google Cloud and has published joint research with DeepMind.