Transforming drug discovery with generative AI
Founded in 2019, Variational AI is pioneering a new era of small molecule drug discovery by leveraging a powerful new form of machine learning known as generative AI. Our mission is to redefine the unit economics of drug discovery, enabling biopharma partners to bring novel therapeutics to patients faster and more cost-effectively.
From oncology to other high-need therapeutic areas, we are working hand-in-hand with industry partners to unlock new chemical space and accelerate the path to novel therapies.
Evolving at the intersection of AI and drug discovery
Our team brings together deep expertise across machine learning, medicinal chemistry, and computational chemistry, applied to the challenges of small molecule drug discovery. Our AI scientists have been trained and conducted research at some of the world’s leading academic and industrial laboratories, including MIT, Caltech, Berkeley, Google, Microsoft Research, and D-Wave Quantum, and combine cutting-edge expertise in generative modeling with strong foundations in applied mathematics and computational science. Alongside experienced medicinal and computational chemists with first-hand pharmaceutical R&D experience, Variational AI’s multidisciplinary team ensures that Enki is grounded in rigorous science and built as a practical solution to real-world discovery programs.
Our Team

Handol Kim
Co-Founder & CEO

Jason Rolfe, PhD
Co-Founder & CTO

Ali Saberali, PhD
Co-Founder & Head of Platform

Peter Guzzo, PhD
EVP, Head of Drug Discovery

Roslynn Drewitt-Lange
VP, Finance & Operations

Ahmad Issa, PhD
Senior Machine Learning Scientist

Marshall Drew-Brook
Principal Machine Learning Engineer

Sara Ibrahim Omar, PhD
Computational Chemist

Alex Perryman, PhD
Principal Scientist

Brian Atwood, PhD
Scientific Project Manager

Matthew Quenneville, PhD
Machine Learning Scientist

James McSally, PhD
Computational Chemist

Yizhou Zhang, PhD
Machine Learning Scientist

Jérôme Rony, PhD
Machine Learning Scientist

Valentin Beuchillot
Senior Manager BD & Marketing

Sumin Park
Chemistry Data Analyst

Mahdi Gilany, PhD
Machine Learning Engineer
Boards of Directors

Frank Chang
Managing Partner, Flying Fish Partner

Handol Kim
CEO, Variational AI

Hanqing Li
Investment Director, Merck GHIF

Jason Robertson
CEO, Nimbus Synergies

Jason Rolfe, PhD
CTO, Variational AI
Scientific Advisory Board

John Boylan, PhD
Cell Biology/Oncology drug discovery

Artem Cherkasov, PhD
Cheminformatics

Alexander Tropsha, PhD
Cheminformatics

Robert N. Young, PhD
Medicinal Chemistry
Advisors

Jennifer Hamilton, PhD
Strategy/Commercial

Nancy Harrison
Strategy/ Commercial

Todd Farrell
Strategy

Paul Davie
Commercial
Variational AI is backed by top-tier investors in healthcare, life sciences, and artificial intelligence.
Our investors include: Nimbus Synergies, Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, Flying Fish Ventures, A&E Investments, Nepenthe Capital, and an alliance of Angel investors. This support fuels the continued development of our generative AI platform, Enki, and strengthens our ability to collaborate with biopharma partners across therapeutic areas.







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