Curie.Bio

About

Curie.Bio is a Boston-based venture capital firm and biotech accelerator founded in early 2023 by Zach Weinberg, Alexis Borisy, and Christoph Lengauer ¹². The firm combines seed-stage capital with hands-on drug discovery support, operating what it describes as a “co-pilot” model for therapeutics founders ³⁴. Curie.Bio is headquartered at 177 Huntington Avenue in Boston ⁵.

Weinberg previously founded Invite Media (acquired by Google in 2010) and co-founded Flatiron Health (acquired by Roche in 2018 for $1.9 billion) ²⁶. Borisy was a partner at Third Rock Ventures and co-founded Blueprint Medicines, Foundation Medicine, Relay Therapeutics, and EQRx ³⁷. Lengauer, also formerly of Third Rock Ventures, served as CSO at Blueprint Medicines and as global head of oncology at Sanofi, and has contributed to the discovery of 10 approved drugs ³⁷.

The firm launched in February 2023 with over $520 million in initial capital, backed by ARCH Venture Partners, GV (Alphabet’s venture arm), Leaps by Bayer, Casdin Capital, and 5am Ventures ²⁶⁸. In June 2024, Curie.Bio closed a $380 million “Breakout Fund” dedicated to supporting portfolio companies through clinical proof-of-concept studies, bringing total capital raised to nearly $1 billion ⁹¹⁰. In January 2025, the firm raised $342.1 million for Seed Fund II, with commitments from 46 investors, bringing total capital raised to over $1.2 billion ¹¹¹².

Curie.Bio’s team consists of over 100 experienced professionals, including drug hunters, medicinal chemists, and biotech operators ³⁷. The firm has a network of more than 200 CRO (contract research organization) partnerships that serve as an on-demand R&D service for portfolio companies ⁹¹⁰. Rather than charging cash fees for its services, founders receive access to Curie.Bio’s shared services, capabilities, and network in exchange for 7.5% of founder common stock ⁴¹³. The firm separately invests $5-15 million of capital in preferred stock per company ⁴¹⁴.

As of January 2025, Curie.Bio had received approximately 4,000 applications since launch and invested in 26 companies, representing an acceptance rate of less than 1% ¹¹. F-Prime Capital is also an investor in Curie.Bio itself ¹⁵.

Stated Thesis

Curie.Bio publicly describes its mission as “helping founders launch therapeutics companies that go on to raise an awesome next round of financing” ¹⁴. The firm positions itself under the banner of “Free the Founders,” arguing that the traditional biotech venture model is broken for founder-led companies ²⁶.

CEO Zach Weinberg has stated that “there is an opportunity for significantly more founder-led, and founder-controlled therapeutic companies out there over the next decade” because “technology has made the process of doing some early experiments faster and cheaper” and “the vendor ecosystem has matured to where you don’t have to do absolutely everything in-house” ¹⁶. In a 2024 press release, the firm stated: “We believe the single greatest unlock of innovation in biotech over the next decade will come from giving founders with great therapeutic ideas the support and access they need to build successful companies” ¹⁰.

The firm says it invests across any modality (small molecules, antibodies, peptides, degraders, antibody-drug conjugates, gene therapies), any therapeutic area, and any geography ¹⁴. The stated focus is on lead programs with specific target product profiles capable of reaching development candidate status within 12-18 months on $5-15 million of capital ⁴⁸.

Curie.Bio explicitly distinguishes itself from traditional venture-created companies (VCCOs) by emphasizing that founders remain in control. The firm states it avoids leading subsequent funding rounds to prevent signaling risk and maintains incentive alignment through its common stock position ⁴.

Inferred Thesis

Based on 10 verified investments (out of 26+ claimed), Curie.Bio’s actual portfolio reveals the following patterns. The sample represents approximately 38% of known investments, so percentages should be interpreted with caution.

Stage distribution: 100% seed-stage investments (10 of 10). Every verified investment is a pre-Series A seed round. This is consistent with the firm’s stated focus ⁹¹⁴.

Sector breakdown: The portfolio is exclusively therapeutics, with no platform-only or tools companies observed. Based on verified investments: immunology/inflammation (2 of 10, 20% — Forward Therapeutics, Decrypt Biomedicine), neuroscience/psychiatry (2 of 10, 20% — Phrenix Therapeutics, Alkira Bio [GPCR-targeting antibodies for neurological conditions]), degrader therapeutics (1 of 10, 10% — Differentiated Therapeutics), multiple sclerosis (1 of 10, 10% — Astoria Biologica). The remaining verified companies (R1 Therapeutics, Ambagon Therapeutics) have limited public information on therapeutic area ^2691718.

Modality mix: The portfolio spans small molecules (Forward Therapeutics), biologics/antibodies (Alkira Bio), and degraders (Differentiated Therapeutics), consistent with the stated “any modality” approach ²¹³.

Geographic distribution: While predominantly US-based, Curie.Bio has made at least two investments in Australia-based companies (Alkira Bio, a Florey Institute spin-out in Melbourne, and Phrenix Therapeutics, a Monash University/Florey spin-out), suggesting genuine international reach ¹⁷¹⁸.

Check size: Publicly reported seed investments range from $5-15 million in preferred stock, with an additional 7.5% common stock for services. Forward Therapeutics received approximately $8-9 million in initial capital ⁴¹⁰¹³.

Co-investor patterns: At the fund level, Curie.Bio’s LPs include ARCH Venture Partners, GV, Leaps by Bayer, Casdin Capital, 5am Ventures, F-Prime Capital, and Evotec ²⁶⁸¹⁵. At the portfolio company level, Brandon Capital co-invested in Phrenix Therapeutics ¹⁸. Forward Therapeutics’ Series A was led by BVF Partners with RA Capital Management and OrbiMed ¹⁹.

Graduation rate: Forward Therapeutics, the firm’s first portfolio company, went from seed to clinic-ready in under 18 months and raised a $50 million Series A at a reported 5x valuation step-up ⁹¹⁰¹⁹. This is the primary public data point for the model’s efficacy.

Notable patterns not in stated thesis: The firm’s acceptance rate of less than 1% (26 investments from approximately 4,000 applications) indicates extreme selectivity ¹¹. The firm also deployed subway and billboard advertising in Massachusetts with messaging like “It may be biotech winter, but Curie.Bio is funding founders,” suggesting active brand marketing unusual for a VC firm ¹³.

Portfolio

This table represents approximately 30% of Curie.Bio’s claimed 26+ portfolio companies. The majority of investments are not publicly disclosed. Only 8 companies could be independently verified from public sources.

In Their Own Words

“It’s all about founders. In particular, helping current and future founders of therapeutic companies get started.” – Zach Weinberg, CEO & Co-Founder, Biospring Partners interview ¹⁶

“We are trying to create a model that gives you both. Seed capital where you are in charge of your own business and an insanely experienced team who works with you in the trenches.” – Zach Weinberg, CEO & Co-Founder, Bits in Bio AMA ²¹

“We are not meant to be the cheapest money to be clear. We are meant to increase your chances of developing a successful drug.” – Zach Weinberg, CEO & Co-Founder, Bits in Bio AMA ²¹

“We want to enable 10x the number of shots on goal.” – Zach Weinberg, CEO & Co-Founder, Biospring Partners interview ¹⁶

“Early mistakes in biotech are expensive. Very expensive.” – Zach Weinberg, CEO & Co-Founder, introduction video ²

“The team I lead at Curie are all hardcore drug hunters. There’s a lot of discovered, developed, and approved drugs in that group.” – Christoph Lengauer, CSO & Co-Founder, C&EN interview, 2024 ¹³

“We built Curie.Bio to free the founders. Curie.Bio significantly improves your ability to create impactful medicines while minimizing long-term dilution.” – Curie.Bio press release, June 2024 ¹⁰

“By support, we don’t mean just a couple of hours a month. We are in the trenches with you on a day-to-day basis, operating as fully integrated members of your team.” – Curie.Bio website ⁸

What Founders Say

“You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. If you have an idea and a patient with challenges, pitch it.” – Toufike Kanouni, CEO & Co-Founder of Forward Therapeutics (Curie.Bio’s first portfolio company), C&EN interview, 2024 ¹³

“Developing therapeutic antibodies that target specific GPCRs has huge potential for creating safe, effective therapeutics.” – Daniel Scott, CEO of Alkira Bio, on the investment from Curie.Bio, Biotech Dispatch, July 2024 ¹⁷

“The investment from Curie.Bio will enable us to leverage our antibody discovery platform to tackle important diseases.” – Chris Draper-Joyce, CSO of Alkira Bio, Biotech Dispatch, July 2024 ¹⁷

No additional independently sourced founder testimonials describing their experience working with Curie.Bio were found. The quotes above are from portfolio company founders commenting on their investment announcements, not detailed accounts of the working relationship. The firm’s Founder Guide references a founder stating “We raised $8 million from Curie.Bio…We met at least weekly” but this could not be independently verified outside of firm marketing materials ¹⁴.

Sources