# Cradle **Source:** https://geo.sig.ai/brands/cradle **Vertical:** Healthcare **Subcategory:** General **Tier:** Challenger **Website:** cradle.bio **Last Updated:** 2026-04-14 ## Summary AI protein design platform combining language models with lab automation; active learning cycles for enzyme, antibody, and therapeutic protein engineering optimization. ## Company Overview Cradle is a protein design platform using AI to help biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies engineer better proteins — enzymes, antibodies, and therapeutic proteins — with improved stability, activity, and manufacturability. Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Amsterdam with teams in San Francisco, Cradle raised approximately $24 million and targets biopharmaceutical, agricultural, and industrial biotechnology companies that need to engineer proteins with specific functional properties. Cradle's platform combines large language models trained on protein sequence data (similar to how LLMs learn from text) with laboratory robotics integration to enable active learning workflows — the AI suggests protein variants to test, laboratory results are fed back to improve the model, and the cycle repeats until optimal variants are identified. This automated design-build-test cycle dramatically reduces the time and cost compared to traditional trial-and-error protein engineering. In 2025, Cradle competes in the AI-powered protein engineering market alongside Absci, EvolutionaryScale (ESM protein language model), and Generate Biomedicines for therapeutic applications, and with enzyme engineering companies like Codexis for industrial applications. The protein design AI space has accelerated significantly with AlphaFold 2's publication (structure prediction) and subsequent protein engineering tools. Cradle's focus on optimizing proteins for specific functional properties (rather than just predicting structure) addresses a critical need in drug development and industrial biotech. The 2025 strategy includes expanding platform coverage to antibody engineering and expanding enterprise deals with large biopharma companies for continuous protein optimization programs. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Cradle? Cradle Bio is a Dutch-Swiss biotechnology company that develops AI-powered software for protein engineering using machine learning. Founded in 2021 and backed by Y Combinator (W20), Cradle enables faster and more efficient protein design for global biotech and pharmaceutical companies. ### What products and services does Cradle offer? Cradle offers an AI protein engineering platform with machine learning-based protein design and optimization software. Their products include biotech development tools and protein prediction models that help companies accelerate protein engineering work. ### Who are Cradle's customers? Cradle's technology is used by major global companies including Novo Nordisk, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, Grifols, and Novozymes. The platform is designed for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies working on protein engineering projects. ### When was Cradle founded? Cradle was founded in 2021. The company participated in Y Combinator's Winter 2020 (W20) batch. ### Where is Cradle located? Cradle is based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with an additional office in Zürich, Switzerland. The company operates across both Dutch and Swiss locations. ### How much funding has Cradle raised? Cradle has raised over $103 million in total funding across three rounds. This includes a $73M Series B in November 2024 led by IVP, a $24M Series A in November 2023 led by Index Ventures, and a €5.5M seed round in November 2022. ### Who are Cradle's investors? Cradle's investors include IVP, Index Ventures, and Kindred Capital. The most recent Series B round was led by IVP with participation from Index Ventures and Kindred Capital. ### What technology does Cradle use? Cradle uses artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to power its protein engineering platform. Their machine learning models enable faster and more efficient protein design and optimization for biotech applications. ### What makes Cradle's approach unique? Cradle applies AI and machine learning to protein engineering, enabling companies to design and optimize proteins faster and more efficiently than traditional methods. Their platform uses predictive models to accelerate the protein development process. ### What is Cradle's most recent news? Cradle's most recent major development was closing a $73 million Series B funding round on November 26, 2024, led by IVP. This brings their total funding to over $103 million and will support continued development of their AI-powered protein engineering platform. ## Tags healthtech, saas, north-america, b2b --- *Data from geo.sig.ai Brand Intelligence Database. Updated 2026-04-14.*