Tahoe Therapeutics, founded in 2022 by Nima Alidoust, Johnny Yu, and UCSF researcher Kevin Shokat, emerged from a discussion about the need for large-scale data collection in virtual cell modeling.

The biotech startup has recently raised $30 million in a funding round led by Amplify Partners, bringing its total funding to $42 million and achieving a valuation of $120 million.

In February 2025, Tahoe released Tahoe-100M, a groundbreaking dataset consisting of 100 million datapoints that detail cancer cells' responses to over 1,000 different molecules.

CEO Nima Alidoust described the launch of Tahoe-100M as a 'Mars landing moment' for single-cell datasets, emphasizing its potential to enhance AI predictions in drug discovery.

This dataset is crucial for training AI models, providing essential information on cellular responses to various substances, which can significantly improve predictive capabilities.

Tahoe aims to develop AI models that simulate living cells, which could greatly enhance the understanding of how new medicines react within the human body.

The company's innovative approach seeks to address challenges in biotech, where poor AI predictions have historically led to failures in laboratory tests.

Tahoe plans to collaborate with a major pharmaceutical or AI partner to develop new medicines, combining their extensive datasets with the partner's expertise.

The new dataset will map drug interactions with human biology, potentially reducing clinical trial failure rates and accelerating the development of precision medicines.

Tahoe's Mosaic platform allows for the integration of diverse cell data from multiple patients, enhancing the quality and scale of datasets necessary for their AI algorithms.

The effectiveness of Tahoe-100M has already been demonstrated, as the Arc Institute utilized it to create an open-source virtual cell model, achieving double the accuracy of existing AI models.

Currently, Tahoe is conducting studies for a drug candidate targeting a major cancer subtype and aims to initiate human testing pending FDA approval.