Biostate AI has raised $12 million in Series A funding to scale its RNA sequencing platform and generative AI models, with the long-term aim of transforming molecular medicine into a unified, data-driven system. The round was led by Accel, with participation from Gaingels, Mana Ventures, InfoEdge Ventures, and returning investors Matter Venture Partners, Vision Plus Capital, and Catapult Ventures.

The company says it is building “the Netflix of molecular diagnostics”—a self-sustaining business model powered by internal data generation and usage, enabling continuous AI improvement without relying on external vendors. Inspired by the recommendation-based, feedback-driven success of Netflix, Biostate’s approach allows it to refine diagnostics and predictive models through its ever-growing internal RNAseq dataset.

Co-founded by David Zhang and Ashwin Gopinath, former professors and repeat biotech entrepreneurs, Biostate is tackling long-standing barriers in RNA sequencing: cost, inconsistency, and fragmented workflows. The company’s proprietary technologies significantly reduce sequencing costs while maintaining quality, allowing thousands of samples to be processed in parallel and used to train large-scale AI models that detect early molecular signals of disease.

Gopinath likens the company’s work to developments in natural language processing: “Just as ChatGPT transformed language understanding by learning from trillions of words, we’re learning the molecular language of human disease from billions of RNA expressions.”

By controlling the entire pipeline—from sample to data to insight—Biostate says it avoids the typical inefficiencies of multi-vendor processes. Its standardized system mitigates batch effects and enables large-scale, de-identified data collection, creating the foundation for general-purpose models that can guide treatment decisions across multiple disease areas.

Zhang, a former associate professor at Rice University, explains that the company aims to eliminate the traditional divide between diagnostics and therapeutics: “Every diagnostic I’ve built was about moving the answer closer to the patient. Biostate takes the biggest leap yet by making the whole transcriptome affordable.”

Biostate has already sequenced over 10,000 samples from more than 150 collaborators, including Cornell and the Accelerated Cure Project. It has secured agreements to process several hundred thousand samples annually and is expanding clinical partnerships in oncology, autoimmune, and cardiovascular disease.

With more than $20 million raised to date, the company believes its approach – rooted in both biochemical innovation and AI model development – can unlock a new era of integrated, affordable precision medicine.