UK BUSINESS AI UNIVERSE: Places: Northern Ireland: Start-ups

Founded

Not stated (spun out of Queen's University Belfast; "over 10 years of research")

Founders

Ben Thomas — co-founder, CEO and Chief Architect; Dermot Tierney — co-founder; Chris Creevey — co-founder

Chief executive

Ben Thomas

Hq

Not stated (origin Belfast, Northern Ireland; HQ not stated in source); other_offices: not stated

What it does

AMPLY Discovery searches genetic sequencing data with AI to find natural defence molecules and turn them into candidate biologic drugs, then makes them for lab testing. Its programmes are at the preclinical stage. It is a spin-out of the Creevey Lab at Queen's University Belfast.

Research focus

AI plus next-generation sequencing and synthetic biology to find biologic drugs; "Evolution has spent billions of years perfecting natural defence mechanisms".

Models and products

AMPLYfolioAI — drug discovery platform — named May 2025

Rounds found

Sep 2022 — £900,000 (already DEAL-LB-036); Feb 2024 — Innovate UK £1.4m (already DEAL-LAB-2014); 1 May 2025 — seed — $1.75m — Twin Path Ventures — Venture Science, Co-Fund NI, British Business Bank, QUBIS (already DEAL-LAB-2013)

Status now

Not stated (no source after May 2025 opened)

Labs Round 8 deep profile (31 Oct 2026), as the researchers wrote it; confidence: one source.

Sources

1. tech.eu/2025/05/01/queens-university-spin-off-am