# Huafeng Xu

> Huafeng Xu is the founder and CEO of Fathom Therapeutics (formerly AtomMap), a New York drug-design company that simulates protein motion at atomic resolution to design small molecules that work inside living cells. A computational chemist with 25+ years and 10,000+ citations, Xu spent 12 years at D. E. Shaw Research building the free-energy and molecular-dynamics methods now standard across pharma, then served as CTO of Silicon Therapeutics and Roivant Discovery before launching his own company. In April 2026 Fathom closed an oversubscribed $47M Series A led by Sutter Hill Ventures to scale its Microcosmos engine.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at Fathom Therapeutics
- **Organizations:** Fathom Therapeutics, AtomMap, Roivant Discovery, Silicon Therapeutics, D. E. Shaw Research
- **Nationality:** United States
- **Education:** B.S. in Chemistry, Peking University, M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemistry, Columbia University, Visiting postdoctoral scholar, University of California, San Francisco
- **Known for:** Led development of free-energy calculation methods and software now widely used across the pharmaceutical industry, including work tied to the Anton special-purpose supercomputer and Desmond molecular-dynamics software, More than 10,000 citations across his publications, Founded AtomMap (2023) and grew it into Fathom Therapeutics with an oversubscribed $47M Series A

## Career timeline

- **1992-1997** — Studied chemistry at Peking University (B.S.)
- **1997-2001** — Earned M.S. and Ph.D. in chemistry at Columbia University
- **~2008-2020** — Research scientist at D. E. Shaw Research for ~12 years; led development of free-energy and molecular-dynamics methods used in the Anton supercomputer and Desmond software
- **2021** — Roivant Sciences acquired Silicon Therapeutics for ~$450M; Xu became CTO of Roivant Discovery, having served as CTO of Silicon Therapeutics
- **2023** — Founded AtomMap, a computational drug-discovery company in New York
- **2026-04** — AtomMap rebranded as Fathom Therapeutics and closed an oversubscribed $47M Series A led by Sutter Hill Ventures

## Achievements

- Led development of free-energy calculation methods and software now widely used across the pharmaceutical industry, including work tied to the Anton special-purpose supercomputer and Desmond molecular-dynamics software
- More than 10,000 citations across his publications
- Founded AtomMap (2023) and grew it into Fathom Therapeutics with an oversubscribed $47M Series A
- Fathom's Microcosmos engine accelerates protein-dynamics modeling by 10,000x while preserving accuracy
- Designed novel degraders against an 'undruggable' target in roughly six weeks
- AtomMap partnered with 11 companies on discovery projects
- Founding team has collectively advanced 19 drugs to the clinic, including seven FDA-approved medicines

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — AtomMap rebranded as Fathom Therapeutics and closed an oversubscribed $47M Series A led by Sutter Hill Ventures, with Chemistry, Alexandria Venture Investments, and Empire State Development's NY Ventures participating.

## Links

- Website: https://www.fathomtx.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/huafeng-xu-63413b16

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/huafeng-xu
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-04