Recursion Pharmaceuticals vs Butterfly Network

By valuation, Recursion Pharmaceuticals is the larger company at $1.8B versus $957M — a 1.9x difference. Size can also be measured by team: Recursion Pharmaceuticals employs 800 people while Butterfly Network has 500-1000 employees.

Butterfly Network has raised $370M in disclosed funding across 5 known rounds. Recursion Pharmaceuticals's funding history is not publicly available.

Butterfly Network leads with an Awaira Score of 85/100, while Recursion Pharmaceuticals sits at 65/100. That 20-point gap reflects real differences in funding, scale, and traction — it's not a vanity metric.

Recursion Pharmaceuticals was founded by Chris Gibson in 2013. Butterfly Network was founded by John Martin in 2011. Visit each company's profile on Awaira for a full founder biography.

Recursion Pharmaceuticals: Recursion Pharmaceuticals is a computational biology company founded in 2013 that uses artificial intelligence and high-throughput screening to accelerate drug discovery and development. The company's platform combines automated microscopy, machine learning, and large-scale biological data analysis to identify novel drug candidates and therapeutic targets across multiple disease areas. Recursion operates a proprietary laboratory automation system capable of conducting millions of experiments to map cellular and molecular responses to chemical compounds. The company has developed computational models to predict drug efficacy and safety profiles before traditional clinical testing, significantly reducing development timelines and costs. As a publicly traded company with a $2.2 billion valuation, Recursion has built partnerships with major pharmaceutical firms including Bayer and Exscientia to validate its platform's effectiveness. The company's approach focuses on rare genetic diseases and oncology, using its ability to process vast biological datasets that would be impractical through conventional methods. Recursion's competitive advantage lies in its integration of wet laboratory automation with advanced machine learning analytics, enabling systematic drug discovery at scale. The company continues to expand its internal pipeline while licensing its technology to established pharma players, positioning itself as both a drug developer and a computational biology platform provider in the AI healthcare sector. Recursion combines automated laboratory systems with machine learning to systematize drug discovery at unprecedented scale and speed. Butterfly Network: Butterfly Network produces the Butterfly iQ, a handheld ultrasound device powered by a proprietary semiconductor chip that replaces traditional piezoelectric transducer arrays with a single silicon chip capable of whole-body imaging. The AI software layer provides real-time image interpretation guidance, enabling clinicians with limited ultrasound training to perform diagnostic scans at the bedside.\n\nThe company is publicly traded on the NYSE under the ticker BFLY and raised over 700 million USD prior to and through its public listing. Butterfly has deployed devices across hospitals, emergency rooms, and point-of-care settings in over 50 countries, with particular penetration in resource-limited healthcare settings where traditional ultrasound equipment is prohibitively expensive or unavailable.\n\nPortable AI-assisted diagnostic imaging represents a structural shift in how and where medical imaging is performed. Butterfly Network has created a defensible position through its proprietary chip architecture, which competitors cannot easily replicate, and through its growing library of AI-assisted clinical guidance tools. The transition from hospital-based imaging to point-of-care diagnostics powered by AI guidance is a multi-decade trend that positions Butterfly at the center of a fundamental change in diagnostic medicine. Butterfly Network operates in the AI Healthcare sector and is headquartered in United States. Founded in 2011 by John Martin, Butterfly Network has raised $370M in total funding, achieving a valuation of $957M as of its latest round. The company's funding journey includes a Seed of $11.1M in 2011, a Series A of $29.6M in 2012, a Series B of $66.6M in 2014, a Series C of $114.7M in 2015, a Series D of $148M in 2016. With approximately 500-1000 employees, Butterfly Network has established itself as a Public-stage player in the AI Healthcare market. The company holds an Awaira Score of 85/100, reflecting its strong position across valuation, funding trajectory, team scale, and market influence. Butterfly Network competes in a rapidly evolving segment alongside other AI Healthcare companies. Based in United States, Butterfly Network is part of a growing international AI ecosystem attracting talent and investment. The AI Healthcare space has attracted significant investment in recent years, with companies racing to capture enterprise and consumer demand for AI-powered solutions.

Butterfly Network got there first, launching in 2011 — that's 2 years of extra runway. Recursion Pharmaceuticals didn't arrive until 2013. In AI, that kind of head start means more training data, deeper customer relationships, and a bigger talent moat.

Recursion Pharmaceuticals has about 800 employees; Butterfly Network has about 500-1000. A bigger team usually means more revenue or heavier VC backing, but in AI, small teams can build at massive scale.

Yes — they're direct rivals. Both Recursion Pharmaceuticals and Butterfly Network compete in AI Healthcare, targeting many of the same buyers. If you're evaluating one, you should be looking at the other.