Galux has been named one of Forbes’ 100 Most Promising Companies in Asia for 2026. It’s the only biotech and healthcare firm among the nine Korean companies selected this year.
Forbes’ list of Asia’s 100 Most Promising Companies, announced on Wednesday, spotlights private businesses in the Asia-Pacific region that show exceptional innovation and growth potential.
The magazine cited Galux’s cutting-edge protein design artificial intelligence (AI) technology and its impressive global business performance as key factors in its selection. Galux has been collaborating with pharmaceutical giants like AstraZeneca and Boehringer Ingelheim, and has secured about 700 million KRW (approximately 506,000 USD) in total investments, including a Series B round earlier this year.
Galux leverages its proprietary AI platform, GaluxDesign, to develop novel antibody and protein therapeutics. This groundbreaking approach merges protein physicochemical principles with AI to design protein structures and sequences with specific functions from scratch.
The company has recently ramped up its in-house drug development efforts. Its AI-designed PD-1/IL-18v dual antibody for cancer immunotherapy has been chosen as a candidate for this year’s national drug development program.
Galux Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Park Tae-yong said that this recognition validates the work in demonstrating the potential of AI in protein design. It’s committed to becoming a global biotech leader, developing innovative therapies that make a difference worldwide.
Galux, an AI-driven drug discovery startup, was founded in September 2020 by Professor Oh Suk-Rak and his students from Seoul National University’s Chemistry Department. Building on the university team’s expertise in protein structure and interaction prediction, they developed an AI-powered drug design platform. The company secured seed funding from Intervest in early 2021, followed by a 5 billion KRW (approximately 3.6 million USD) strategic investment from Kakao Brain that December, setting the stage for rapid growth.
In 2022, Galux raised 21 billion KRW (approximately 15.2 million USD) in Series A funding, accelerating its advances in protein structure prediction and antibody design. This allowed the company to expand its partnerships with global pharmaceutical firms and kick-start its own drug pipeline development. Recent collaborations with AstraZeneca and Boehringer Ingelheim, along with the selection of its AI-designed PD-1/IL-18v dual antibody for the national drug development program, showcase the growing applications of Galux’s innovative technology in the pharmaceutical industry.