OutSee closes £2.5m seed round and seals o2h alliance

12 Jan, 2026
Cambridge-based genomics and drug discovery fledgling OutSee has closed its £2.5 million seed round and signed what could prove an important strategic deal with o2h discovery - also based in Cambridge.
Thumbnail
OutSee founder and CEO Dr Julian Gough. Credit –MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB).

OutSee is pioneering what it calls a unique AI-based predictive genomics approach to target discovery. It was shortlisted for last September's Business Weekly Awards.

The seed round was led by Ahren Innovation Capital, with Kadmos Capital, Panacea, Empirical Ventures, and 26 independent Angel investors also participating. The first close of the seed round was announced in June 2025.

OutSee Founder and CEO, Dr Julian Gough, says that since the first close, the company has significantly expanded its in-house discovery programme, harnessing its genomic target discovery and precision medicine platform – Nomaly – to identify a portfolio of data-backed therapeutic targets.

The round as a whole will enable the company to advance these targets through experimental validation and generate a strong internal pipeline of assets, in addition to ongoing R & D of the platform to enhance the core technology and transition from validation to active value generation.

Funding and support for the partnership with o2h discovery has been provided through o2h’s co-discovery InflexionTx, a match funding model at the HIT ID Phase covering critical proof of concept studies, which aims to unlock novel high value ideas and assets.

Integrating OutSee’s deep computational biology expertise, the research project is focused on building a library of drug candidates for OutSee’s lead target ahead of future therapeutic development.

The broader partnership with o2h discovery aims to launch a collaborative drug discovery programme for OutSee’s lead target candidate, identified through the Nomaly platform.

Nomaly adopts a ‘genomics first’ approach to target identification. Drawing on an AI-powered engine that uses hypothesis-free, predictive modelling, Nomaly generates conclusions from the fundamental molecular and cellular biology of the genome, enabling it to predict disease and phenotype ab initio directly from a single genome.

This approach is complementary to existing target discovery pipelines, uncovering underlying biological mechanisms that drive and modulate disease, and is applicable to small datasets or those that have already been analysed by conventional methods.

Dr Gough said: “Partnering with the team at o2h discovery is a fantastic milestone for OutSee as we look ahead to commencing our first drug discovery programme and showcasing the potential of our Nomaly platform to revolutionise target discovery.

“The agreement is testament to the strength of our technology and, in combination with the closure of our oversubscribed seed funding round, kicks off a very exciting year.”

Prashant Shah, Co-founder, o2h Group, added: “o2h discovery prioritises insight-driven science and OutSee’s pioneering approach to target identification facilitates just that, holding the potential to unlock a new wave of therapeutic targets.

“The technology is disruptive and enables datasets to be analysed in a completely new way, even those that have already been combed using traditional methods. We look forward to working together and leveraging our respective expertise to drive this programme forward.”