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Nabla vs Exscientia

Side-by-side on valuation, funding, investors, founders & more

Comparison updated: April 2026

Nabla is valued at $180M — more than 3x Exscientia's N/A.

Head-to-Head Verdict

Exscientia leads on 3 of 4 metrics

Nabla

1 win

-Funding
+Awaira Score
-Team Size
-Experience

Exscientia

3 wins

+Funding
-Awaira Score
+Team Size
+Experience

Key Numbers

Valuation
$180M
N/A
Total Funding
$131M
$500M
Awaira Score
73/100
72/100
Employees
80
100-500
Founded
2018
2012
Stage
Series C
Acquired
NablaExscientia
Winner
Nabla logo
Nabla

🇫🇷 France · Alexandre Lebrun

Series CAI HealthcareEst. 2018

Valuation

$180M

Total Funding

$131M

Awaira Score73/100

80 employees

Full Nabla Profile →
Exscientia logo
Exscientia

🇬🇧 United Kingdom · Andrew Hopkins

AcquiredAI HealthcareEst. 2012

Valuation

N/A

Total Funding

$500M

Awaira Score72/100

100-500 employees

Full Exscientia Profile →
Market Context

Both companies compete in the AI Healthcare space, though from different geographies — Nabla in France and Exscientia in United Kingdom. Different stages (Series C vs Acquired) mean these companies face fundamentally different operational priorities.

🔬

Analyst Summary

Built from real data · Updated April 2026

Companies

Within AI Healthcare, Nabla and Exscientia rank among the most closely watched rivals. Nabla is a French AI health company founded in 2018 that develops artificial intelligence solutions for clinical documentation and patient care workflows. Exscientia is an AI-driven drug design company that uses automated design-make-test-analyse cycles to generate drug candidates with the goal of reducing the time and cost of small molecule drug discovery.

Funding & Valuation

Only Nabla has a public valuation on record ($180M); Exscientia's has not been disclosed. On the funding front, Exscientia has secured $500M, outpacing Nabla's $131M by $369M.

Growth Stage

Exscientia (est. 2012) predates Nabla (est. 2018) by 6 years, a significant head start in building market presence. Nabla is at Series C while Exscientia stands at Acquired, indicating different levels of maturity and investor risk. On headcount, Nabla reports 80 employees and Exscientia reports 100-500.

Geography & Outlook

Geography separates them: Nabla in 🇫🇷 France and Exscientia in 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, each benefiting from local ecosystems. On Awaira's 0-100 scale, the gap is minimal — Nabla scores 73 and Exscientia scores 72. Under Alexandre Lebrun and Andrew Hopkins respectively, both companies continue to chart aggressive growth paths.

Funding Velocity

Nabla

Total Rounds1
Avg. Round SizeN/A

Exscientia

Total Rounds1
Avg. Round Size$225M

Funding History

Nabla has completed 1 funding round, while Exscientia has gone through 1. Nabla's most recent round was a Seed, compared to Exscientia's Series D ($225M). Nabla is at Series C while Exscientia is at Acquired — different points in their growth trajectory.

Team & Scale

Team sizes are in the same ballpark: Nabla has about 80 people and Exscientia has around 100-500. Exscientia has a 6-year head start, founded in 2012 vs Nabla's 2018. Geographically, they're in different markets — Nabla operates out of France and Exscientia from United Kingdom.

Metrics Comparison

MetricNablaExscientia
💰Valuation
$180M
N/A
📈Total Funding
$131M
$500MWINS
📅Founded
2018WINS
2012
🚀Stage
Series C
Acquired
👥Employees
80
100-500
🌍Country
France
United Kingdom
🏷️Category
AI Healthcare
AI Healthcare
Awaira Score
73WINS
72

Key Differences

📈

Funding gap: Exscientia has raised $369M more ($500M vs $131M)

📅

Market experience: Exscientia has 6 years more (founded 2012 vs 2018)

🚀

Growth stage: Nabla is at Series C vs Exscientia at Acquired

👥

Team size: Nabla has 80 employees vs Exscientia's 100-500

🌍

Market base: 🇫🇷 Nabla (France) vs 🇬🇧 Exscientia (United Kingdom)

⚔️

Direct competitors: Both operate in the AI Healthcare market segment

Awaira Score: Nabla scores 73/100 vs Exscientia's 72/100

Which Should You Choose?

Use these signals to make the right call

Nabla logo

Choose Nabla if…

Top Pick
  • Higher Awaira Score — 73/100 vs 72/100
  • More established by valuation ($180M)
  • France-based for regional compliance or proximity
  • Nabla is a French AI health company founded in 2018 that develops artificial intelligence solutions for clinical documentation and patient care workflows
Exscientia logo

Choose Exscientia if…

  • Stronger investor backing — raised $500M
  • More market experience — founded in 2012
  • United Kingdom-based for regional compliance or proximity
  • Exscientia is an AI-driven drug design company that uses automated design-make-test-analyse cycles to generate drug candidates with the goal of reducing the time and cost of small molecule drug discovery

Funding History

Nabla raised $131M across 1 round. Exscientia raised $500M across 1 round.

Nabla

Seed

Jan 2018

Exscientia

Series D

Apr 2021

Lead: SoftBank Vision Fund 2

$225M

Investor Comparison

No shared investors detected between these two companies.

Unique to Exscientia

SoftBank Vision Fund 2Bristol-Myers Squibb

Users Also Compare

FAQ — Nabla vs Exscientia

Is Nabla bigger than Exscientia?
Nabla has a disclosed valuation of $180M, while Exscientia's valuation is not publicly available, making a direct size comparison difficult. Nabla employs 80 people.
Which company raised more funding — Nabla or Exscientia?
Exscientia has raised more in total funding at $500M, compared to Nabla's $131M — a gap of $369M. Combined, the two companies have completed 2 known funding rounds.
Which company has a higher Awaira Score?
Nabla leads with an Awaira Score of 73/100, while Exscientia sits at 72/100. That 1-point gap reflects real differences in funding, scale, and traction — it's not a vanity metric.
Who founded Nabla vs Exscientia?
Nabla was founded by Alexandre Lebrun in 2018. Exscientia was founded by Andrew Hopkins in 2012. Visit each company's profile on Awaira for a full founder biography.
What does Nabla do vs Exscientia?
Nabla: Nabla is a French AI health company founded in 2018 that develops artificial intelligence solutions for clinical documentation and patient care workflows. The company has raised $30M in total funding and operates at Series B stage with a valuation of $200M. Nabla's core offering focuses on AI-powered clinical documentation tools designed to reduce administrative burden on healthcare providers. The platform applies natural language processing and machine learning to automate medical note-taking, allowing physicians to spend more time with patients rather than on paperwork. The company targets hospitals, clinics, and healthcare systems across Europe, with particular strength in the French market. Nabla's technology integrates with existing electronic health record systems and clinical workflows. The company competes in the growing digital health and healthcare AI sector alongside players focused on clinical automation and documentation efficiency. Nabla's approach emphasizes practical integration into existing healthcare infrastructure rather than building standalone applications. The company has demonstrated traction in European healthcare markets where administrative burden on clinicians remains significant. Its Series B funding stage indicates successful product-market fit validation and positions Nabla for expanded market reach and product development in the healthcare AI space. Nabla addresses the specific pain point of clinical documentation burden through AI automation, allowing European healthcare providers to improve operational efficiency. Exscientia: Exscientia is an AI-driven drug design company that uses automated design-make-test-analyse cycles to generate drug candidates with the goal of reducing the time and cost of small molecule drug discovery. The Oxford-originated company builds generative chemistry models and automated laboratory robotics that together create a closed-loop system for molecular design, synthesis, and assay testing, producing candidates in months rather than the years required by conventional medicinal chemistry programmes.\n\nThe company went public on NASDAQ under the ticker EXAI, having raised over $500 million in combined public and private funding from investors including Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, SoftBank, and GT Healthcare Capital Partners. Exscientia has clinical-stage programmes in oncology and neuropsychiatry and reports being the first company to advance AI-designed drug candidates into human clinical trials. The company has multiple pharma partnerships including agreements with Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sanofi, and Evotec that provide milestone and royalty revenue.\n\nExscientia competes in the AI drug design space against Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Schrodinger, Relay Therapeutics, and Insilico Medicine. The company differentiates through its integrated automated laboratory approach, which combines computational design with physical synthesis and testing in a single workflow rather than treating AI design as a separate step before conventional chemistry. Its public market position and disclosed clinical programmes provide transparency benchmarks against which the broader AI drug discovery sector is measured by investors and pharmaceutical partners.
Which company was founded first?
Exscientia got there first, launching in 2012 — that's 6 years of extra runway. Nabla didn't arrive until 2018. In AI, that kind of head start means more training data, deeper customer relationships, and a bigger talent moat.
Which company has more employees?
Nabla has about 80 employees; Exscientia has about 100-500. A bigger team usually means more revenue or heavier VC backing, but in AI, small teams can build at massive scale.
Are Nabla and Exscientia competitors?
Yes — they're direct rivals. Both Nabla and Exscientia compete in AI Healthcare, targeting many of the same buyers. If you're evaluating one, you should be looking at the other.

Bottom Line

It's close. Both Nabla and Exscientia are strong players, and picking a winner depends on what you're looking for. Check each profile for the full picture.

Who Should You Watch?

This one's genuinely too close to call. Both companies are competitive, and the winner will likely come down to execution over the next 12-18 months. Follow both profiles on Awaira to track funding rounds, team changes, and score updates.

Deep Dive