SandboxAQ acquires Good Chemistry to advance drug discovery

CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES — Software-as-a-service (SaaS) firm SandboxAQ has acquired computational chemistry company Good Chemistry to accelerate drug discovery initiatives.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the acquisition is worth approximately $75 million in cash and stock.
The acquisition will bring Good Chemistry’s team of quantum experts to SandboxAQ. These include quantum chemists, artificial intelligence (AI) developers, machine learning engineers, and quantum computing scientists.
“AI-enabled simulation of matter is the next major technological evolution that will dramatically impact our world – from developing safer, more effective new drugs to designing new advanced materials that will transform entire industries,” said Reema Khan, CEO of Green Sands Equity.
In addition to workforce additions, Good Chemistry’s software portfolio – QEMIST Cloud and Tangelo – will be integrated into SandboxAQ’s systems.
QEMIST Cloud is a SaaS-based computational chemistry platform that utilizes computational and quantum chemistry for developing advanced new materials.
Meanwhile, Tangelo is an open-source, quantum computing software development kit that accelerates research and development by allowing chemists to conduct experiments across quantum cloud providers and hardware devices.
Good Chemistry’s Chief Executive Officer Arman Zaribafiyan will join SandboxAQ as head of product for AI simulation platforms.
Good Chemistry is backed by investors, including Green Sands Equity, Allianz, Fujitsu, Agentis Capital, and WorldQuant Ventures – all of which will hop into the SandboxAQ investor base.
SandboxAQ, spun out of Google parent Alphabet Inc. in 2022 to make quantum technology and AI tools for commercial use. Good Chemistry is also a spinoff firm that separated from quantum-computing firm 1QBit in 2022.