Aqemia vs Valo Health (2026)
Two small molecule discovery companies that sell to drug makers through partnerships, and they begin from opposite ends of the problem. Aqemia starts from a target a partner has already chosen. Its Qemi platform computes how tightly candidate molecules bind using statistical and quantum mechanics, trains a generative model on those computed results, and lets that model propose new molecules, so the company says it needs no experimental training data for a new target. It runs no wet lab of its own: contract research organizations test its in house designs, and partners such as Sanofi test theirs. The Sanofi agreement of December 2023 makes Aqemia eligible for up to $140 million and was extended to a new target in July 2026. Valo Health starts before the target exists. It mines more than 17 million de identified patient records, some covering 20 to 30 years with linked biobank samples, for patient subtypes and causal drivers of disease, checks candidate targets in human data, and then runs closed loop chemistry in which models are refit after each round of laboratory results. Novo Nordisk widened its collaboration in early 2025 to as many as twenty programs in obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. A drug company that already knows its target, wants physics grounded designs and will run the laboratory work itself fits Aqemia. One that wants the target choice itself grounded in human patient data, with chemistry run in the same loop, fits Valo.
- The target is chosen, and the program needs new molecules designed against it.
- Binding predictions should rest on physics calculations rather than on past assay data.
- The partner prefers to run synthesis and testing in its own laboratories.
- Selectivity against targets the drug must avoid has to be designed in from the first molecules.
- The target itself is still open and should come from human patient data.
- Patient subtypes matter, because the disease looks different across groups.
- Laboratory rounds and model updates should run inside the discovery partner.
- Cardiometabolic, neurological or autoimmune disease is the focus.
This comparison is published by AI Health Index, an independent research platform that compares healthcare AI vendors objectively. Aqemia and Valo Health are each graded against the same capability taxonomy, from each vendor's own public materials and the regulatory record, under the AI Health Index verification standard. No vendor pays for placement, and no vendor has reviewed this page. How this evidence is graded
Plain facts
| Fact | Aqemia | Valo Health |
|---|---|---|
| Primary category | Drug Discovery AI | Drug Discovery AI |
| Founded | 2019 | Not recorded |
| Headquarters | Paris, France | Lexington, Massachusetts |
| Website | aqemia.com | valohealth.com |
Side by Side
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Each vendor in one paragraph
Written to be quoted whole. Each paragraph states what the AI Health Index verified about the vendor, with the caveats attached.
Aqemia designs small molecules against partner chosen targets with Qemi, which trains a generative model on binding energies computed from physics, and leaves laboratory testing to partners and contract research organizations.
Source: AI Health Index, October 2026
Valo Health picks targets from human data first, applying causal inference and statistical genetics to de identified patient records, then designs small molecules in a closed loop of models and laboratory rounds.
Source: AI Health Index, October 2026
Questions buyers ask
How do Aqemia and Valo Health pick the targets they work on?
Aqemia designs against targets its partners nominate, as Sanofi did again in July 2026, and against targets in its own programs. Valo derives targets from patient records and statistical genetics and checks them in human data before chemistry begins. From the AI Health Index, drawn from each vendor's own published materials and the regulatory record, verified October 13, 2026. No vendor pays for placement.
Which of Aqemia and Valo Health runs its own laboratory?
Valo couples its models with in house laboratory capabilities and refits the models after each round. Aqemia has no wet lab; contract research organizations run experiments on its own programs, and partners run them on theirs. From the AI Health Index, drawn from each vendor's own published materials and the regulatory record, verified October 13, 2026. No vendor pays for placement.
What have Aqemia's and Valo Health's partners reported?
Servier reported in June 2024 that molecules Aqemia designed were active in vitro and in vivo, and Sanofi has since added a target to its agreement. Novo Nordisk says its Valo collaboration has led to several novel cardiometabolic targets, under terms of up to $190 million in near term payments and about $4.6 billion in potential milestones. From the AI Health Index, drawn from each vendor's own published materials and the regulatory record, verified October 13, 2026. No vendor pays for placement.
Related comparisons
Other published head to head assessments involving these vendors or their closest peers. The full set for this category is on the Drug Discovery AI page.
Aqemia was founded in Paris in 2019 and works from Paris and London. Valo Health is based in Lexington, Massachusetts. Both are paid through partnership terms rather than list prices.