# Hexagon Bio

> Hexagon Bio is a Menlo Park biotech that mines the genomes of fungi and other microbes to discover new medicines. Its platform pairs machine learning, genomics, and synthetic biology to read DNA sequences, predict the small molecules they encode, and connect those molecules to the human proteins they act on - skipping the random trial-and-error that has long defined natural-product drug discovery. The company is focused on novel cytotoxic payloads for antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) in oncology, and in late 2025 extended its approach to agriculture through a joint venture with Corteva.

- **Founded:** 2017
- **Headquarters:** Menlo Park, California, United States
- **Founders:** Maureen Hillenmeyer (Co-Founder & CEO), Yi Tang (Co-Founder (Professor, UCLA)), Brian Naughton (Co-Founder (former CTO)), Colin Harvey (Co-Founder & VP, Synthetic Biology)
- **Team size:** Approximately 70 employees
- **Products:** Computational discovery platform, Microbial genome database, ADC payload pipeline, Oncology and infectious-disease programs
- **Notable:** Raised approximately $272.9M total across Series A, A extension, and Series B financings, Built a microbial genome database reported to be ~10x larger than all public databases combined, Spun key computational natural-product science out of Stanford's Genomes to Natural Products program

## Products & services

- **Computational discovery platform** — A proprietary platform combining machine learning, genomics, chemistry, synthetic biology, and automation to predict small molecules encoded in microbial genomes and the human protein targets they act on.
- **Microbial genome database** — A proprietary database reported to be roughly 10x larger than all public databases combined, growing by thousands of fungal and microbial genomes per month.
- **ADC payload pipeline** — Novel cytotoxic payloads and linker-payloads for antibody-drug conjugates aimed at overcoming resistance to existing cancer therapies.
- **Oncology and infectious-disease programs** — Small-molecule therapeutic programs derived from natural products, advancing toward development-candidate nomination.

## Achievements

- Raised approximately $272.9M total across Series A, A extension, and Series B financings
- Built a microbial genome database reported to be ~10x larger than all public databases combined
- Spun key computational natural-product science out of Stanford's Genomes to Natural Products program
- Recruited senior oncology leaders from Amgen, including scientists tied to LUMAKRAS (sotorasib)
- Signed a multi-million-dollar joint venture with Corteva in 2025, extending its platform into agriculture

## Latest updates

- **2025-12** — Announced a multi-million-dollar joint venture with Corteva to develop nature-inspired crop protection solutions - its first move into agriculture.
- **2023-02** — Closed a $77.3M Series B and strengthened leadership: Tara Arvedson promoted to CSO and Victor Cee joined as SVP, Drug Discovery.
- **2021-09** — Raised $61M to advance small-molecule medicines mined from microbial genomes for cancer and infectious diseases.

## Links

- Website: https://hexagonbio.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hexagon-bio
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/hexagonbio

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/hexagon-bio
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-15