Molecule.one Wins $1M Global Prize to Redefine AI-Driven Chemistry
Tags: Deeptech, AI in Chemistry, Synthetic Biology, Poland Innovation, Pharmaceutical Tech, Drug Discovery, Venture Capital, Automation, WR Grace, Strategic Research
In a stunning win for Poland’s deeptech scene, Warsaw-based startup Molecule.one has secured the $1 million top prize in the Standard Industries Chemical Innovation Challenge, an international competition recognizing breakthroughs at the intersection of chemistry and advanced computation. The victory not only marks a financial milestone but also paves the way for a strategic collaboration with WR Grace, a global leader in industrial chemistry headquartered in Maryland, USA. Yet behind this impressive global validation is a quietly revolutionary startup building not just better molecules—but a new paradigm for chemical discovery, grounded in proprietary AI, in-house manufacturing, and a fully automated laboratory nestled in the Kampinos Forest.
Subscribe to Startup Digest to stay ahead with the latest news, investments, and must-attend events.
From Polish Forest to Global Frontier: Molecule.one’s Radical Edge
Molecule.one, founded by Piotr Byrski and Paweł Włodarczyk-Pruszyński, has reimagined how the chemical and pharmaceutical industries approach drug design. The startup’s core innovation lies in its integration of AI-driven retrosynthesis modeling with real-world experimentation, executed in its fully automated lab in Dziekanów Leśny, just outside Warsaw.
“Most labs ignore failed experiments. We see them as data goldmines,” says Byrski. The company has built a proprietary system to conduct and analyze over 20,000 reactions per week, feeding the results into ever-evolving AI models. Crucially, the team generates its own data—an anomaly in a field where most startups license external datasets or rely on outdated public sources.
Building a “Data Factory” in a Glovebox
Molecule.one’s 30-person team has designed custom hardware from scratch, including its signature glovebox, which enables anaerobic reactions critical for synthesizing rare or fragile compounds. Unlike traditional labs, Molecule.one deliberately maintains a failure rate of 50% to gather edge-case data, training AI systems that can outperform black-box models used by Big Pharma. “This level of control gives us a data advantage that’s nearly impossible to replicate without full-stack integration,” says Greta Klejborowska, who leads scientific partnerships for the startup. And the infrastructure is uniquely Polish. When no space was available for a laboratory in Warsaw, the team partnered with Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Dziekanów Leśny, turning an overlooked building into a cutting-edge chemical lab—now arguably the most advanced AI-chemistry hybrid facility in Europe.
$1M Award and the WR Grace Opportunity
The Standard Industries Chemical Innovation Challenge, run by the global building materials conglomerate, sought game-changing ideas that could accelerate chemical synthesis and production at industrial scale. Molecule.one beat out hundreds of applicants to secure the $1 million award—thanks in large part to its autonomous synthesis engine and proven track record in drug discovery workflows.
But the real prize may be what comes next: the opportunity to partner with WR Grace on optimizing real-world production processes. “We see this as the first step in a long-term partnership,” Byrski said, hinting at co-developed projects that could bring Molecule.one’s AI models into large-scale factories.
This partnership could dramatically expand Molecule.one’s reach—from startup-scale projects to global supply chain optimization, especially in complex specialty chemicals.
Automation as Europe’s Chemical Comeback Strategy
Byrski is candid about where the center of gravity lies in the pharmaceutical industry: “It’s in the U.S. and China. Europe has largely missed the automation revolution in chemistry.” But Molecule.one intends to be a force of reversal.
Its clients today are mostly American, with European demand lagging. Yet the company’s long-term vision is reshoring—bringing pharmaceutical design and even production back to Europe, using automation to drive cost-efficiency without offshoring.
The company’s progress hasn’t gone unnoticed. Molecule.one previously raised $385,000 in early funding from Berlin-based Sunfish Partners, and its platform was made available to COVID-19 researchers at the pandemic’s onset. Since then, it has expanded into oncology drug development, materials synthesis, and academic collaboration—with a major push into enterprise-grade licensing planned for 2026.
A Platform Born in the Classroom, Forged in the Cloud
Molecule.one’s story began as a university project combining chemistry and computer science. “Our first experimental chemist came to the job interview just to tell us it wouldn’t work,” Byrski recalls with a smile. But in just 10 months, they had a working prototype—and within a few years, an autonomous pipeline combining virtual design, robotic execution, and self-learning AI.
Early meetings with investors happened entirely via Zoom during the pandemic, and some backers have never even met the founders in person. Today, the company is a poster child for what Europe’s deeptech ecosystem can produce when academic rigor meets commercial ambition.
The Bigger Picture: Strategic Tech for Global Biosecurity
Beyond pharmaceuticals, Molecule.one’s model has implications for national biosecurity, emergency response, and advanced materials. As trade tensions rise and supply chains fracture, the ability to design and produce new molecules rapidly and locally becomes not just an economic advantage—but a strategic necessity.
Winning the Standard Industries Challenge is not just a win for Molecule.one—it’s a signal that Polish science and entrepreneurship are ready for the global stage.
