Press release of Rahko
Rahko is delighted to announce today a new 3-year collaboration with the science and technology company Merck.
The collaboration is focused on exploring and leveraging the potential for quantum inspired machine learning to enable the discovery and development of novel drugs, molecules and materials – faster, and with greater efficiency and precision than what is currently possible.
Rahko is a London-based startup that is building the capability to better model the behaviour of drugs, chemical reactions and the design of advanced materials with greater speed and accuracy than current state-of-the-art technologies. With its ambition to ‘Solve Chemistry’, Rahko brings together a multidisciplinary team of experts in machine learning, quantum chemistry and quantum computing, to solve some of the world’s most complex problems.
“Merck has long traditions of innovation and forward-facing science, and we believe in Merck we have found an ideal collaborator to fully explore the potential of quantum inspired machine learning to greatly enhance the discovery and development of drugs and advanced materials.” – Leonard Wossnig, Chief Executive Officer of Rahko.
“Quantum inspired machine learning could provide the opportunity to conduct complex simulations, traditionally done manually, very rapidly in a controlled environment,” said Dr. Jan Gerit Brandenburg, In Silico Scientist at Merck. “At Merck, this technology can create opportunities to improve the delivery of patient therapies, laboratory solutions, or technological advancements. We’re excited to collaborate with Rahko to explore how their expertise can help Merck continue on its mission of being the vibrant science and technology company.”
About Rahko – Rahko is a London-based quantum machine learning company that is continually breaking ground in chemical simulation for drugs, batteries, advanced materials and chemicals. The company has the backing of Balderton Capital, Europe’s largest early-stage venture capital investor and a scientific advisory board with many leading figures in computational chemistry and quantum machine learning.
About Merck – Merck a leading science and technology company, operates across healthcare, life science and performance materials. Around 57,000 employees work to make a positive difference to millions of people’s lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From advancing gene editing technologies and discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices – the company is everywhere. In 2019, Merck generated sales of € 16.2 billion in 66 countries.
The company holds the global rights to the name and trademark “Merck” internationally. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck KGaA operate as EMD Serono in healthcare, MilliporeSigma in life science, and EMD Performance Materials. Since its founding 1668, scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to the company’s technological and scientific advances. To this day, the founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company.
