You can hear the enthusiasm of Dov Gertz, co-founder and CEO of Converge Bio in his every word. He may not be the first startup founder to believe that he’s about to change the world, but the enthusiasm sounds authentic and free of bravado, even when he declares, "We have managed to put together one of the three best teams in the world in generative AI for drugs, and certainly the best in Israel."
The company was founded two years ago, but, Gertz says, "In the past few months there has been an explosion." On the business level, the company has signed six significant deals on good terms, while on the scientific level it has made a breakthrough. "We took an existing molecule of Eli Lilly, cetuximab (brand name Erbitux), for treating cancer, and we asked our system to improve it. Within eight hours we had a new product, and within a few weeks two external laboratories confirmed not only that it attached better to the target site in the body, but that it also had properties better adapted for production."
Forbes magazine devoted an article to the results achieved with Erbitux, and presented them as an event with the potential of shaking up accepted business models in biotech. Today, drug discovery processes take years, after which it takes more years of clinical trials to prove efficacy and safety, a process that enables companies to enjoy huge cash flow until the patent expires. Technology such as that of Converge Bio, by contrast, could produce better drugs at record speed.
"We have 30 molecules in line that we believe we are capable of improving," says Gertz. "But that is just the beginning. It’s not the full vision." The ultimate dream is to develop completely new drugs for diseases that currently have no treatment, and at an unprecedented rate.
A frightening collection of talent
How have you managed to reach such achievements within just two years?
"We’re a team that comes from generative AI, a field that, in biology, was only born in the past few years, and we were there," Gertz explains. Behind the company is a team of founders with a wealth of experience: Gertz, and Dr. Iddo Weiner.
Gertz developed machine learning models that led to a breakthrough in gene editing, an achievement for which a patent was registered that was sold to a drug development company (‘My first exit," he laughs.) For his part, Weiner brings with him rich experience in the industry as VP Research at biotechnology company BiomX, as well as being a consultant on biotechnology to the World Bank.
The third founder, Oded Kalev, is a development expert who has been programming since age eight and who has a deep scientific background: he was a senior executive at Perception Point where, Gertz says, "he built the artificial intelligence system from scratch."
"When we set up the company, we recruited people we knew, and they recruited the best people that they knew. We’re very selective, and we have succeeded in bringing together here a really frightening collection of talent, supported by substantial financial resources," Gertz says.
Burden of proof
Despite the achievements, the burden of proof remains on Converge Bio’s shoulders. The laboratories did confirm that the new molecules were characterized by improved attachment to the biological targets, which indicates a potential for safer and more efficacious drugs, but biology remains a surprising and deceptive field.
The final, decisive result can only be determined after a series of trials on human beings, a stage that at present represents a considerable barrier of time and resources that restricts the rate of access of new drugs to the market, even under Converge Bio’s model.
Nevertheless, Gertz displays cautious optimism, saying, "By means of our model, it’s also possible to optimize clinical trials, which could accelerate them as well." He says that the potential of the technology is broad and varied. "We’re where OpenAI was five years ago," he says.
Who are your competitors?
"Our main competitors are Chai Discovery and Isomorphic Labs. Chai Discovery recently raised $130 million at a valuation of $1.3 billion. Isomorphic Labs is a spin-off from Google set up by former DeepMind people. It raised $2 billion this month," says Gertz. "There are other companies, some of them highly respectable, developing drugs using artificial intelligence, but not generative. We are the basic model in that field."
Where do you see yourselves in five years’ time?
"We’ll be the infrastructure layer on which the entire drug industry will be based, while implementing additional advanced capabilities. We have already set up activity in the US and Britain within the past few months, but our aim is to keep the management here, in Israel."
Are you aiming at an exit?
"Heaven forbid. We see our path clearly, and it’s our responsibility towards our investors to let this amazing thing fulfil its full potential."
Year founded: 2024
Capital raised: $30 million
Number of employees: 42
Investors: Saras Capital, Vintage Investment Partners, TLV Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 17, 2026.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2026.