Potential Sciences Raises Millions From UK Sovereign AI Fund and Collison

London startup Potential Sciences has raised a multi-million-dollar seed round backed by the UK government's Sovereign AI fund and Stripe chief executive Patrick Collison. The company is building AI infrastructure for scientific discovery, combining machine learning with quantum chemistry simulations to model how molecules behave and interact at the atomic level.

Founded in November 2025 by Dr Hatem Helal, a former Graphcore executive, the firm claims its physics-based approach could make the calculations needed for designing new chemicals up to one hundred times cheaper. The amount and valuation were not disclosed, though the raise is described as tens of millions of dollars.

The Sovereign AI fund is also providing compute capacity, a notable endorsement of Britain's push to build home-grown AI champions. Other seed investors include Twin Path Ventures, Odyssey and Nauta Capital, alongside several angel backers. The round highlights growing investor appetite for AI applied to drug discovery and materials science.