Our Path
From two competing lab benches and a simultaneous discovery, to a unified AI-powered platform for the next generation of small molecule drugs.
The Journey
From Discovery to Drug Design
The path to a breakthrough is rarely a straight line.
Two Labs. One Breakthrough.
In spring 2021, Max Hansmann, then at Georg-August Universität Göttingen, isolated the first room-temperature stable diazoalkene, a compound long postulated by theoretical chemists but never observed. In the same volume of Nature Chemistry, Paul Varava, working in the group of Prof. Kay Severin at EPFL Lausanne, independently synthesized and fully characterized N-heterocyclic diazoolefins: thermally robust, strongly nucleophilic, and unprecedented in reactivity. Two independent groups, at two different locations in Europe, had crossed the same frontier at almost exactly the same moment.
Rivals at the Frontier.
The simultaneous discovery ignited a productive scientific rivalry. Max, now building his independent research group at TU Dortmund, pushed the diazo ylide platform into phosphorus- and sulfur-based systems, publishing landmark results in Science. Paul continued to map the fundamental reactivity of N-heterocyclic diazoolefins, their coordination chemistry, their ligand behaviour, and their potential as versatile synthetic building blocks. Each paper advanced the field; each new compound class opened unexplored chemical space.
From Science to Startup.
Max's latest Science publication, reporting diazo sulfur ylides capable of generating unique spiro-ring architectures, including spiropentanes, stopped Paul in his tracks. Strained, three-dimensional spiro scaffolds are precisely the underexplored chemical matter that medicinal chemistry has been chasing for next-generation drug candidates: novel shapes, exceptional sp³ character, and properties unreachable by conventional synthesis. The two rivals arranged a call. They talked science. They left with a business plan. Paul would lead commercial development and company building. Max would direct the chemistry, targeting the diseases where DAOdiscovery's unique molecules could make the deepest difference. DAOdiscovery was founded.
From Idea to Infrastructure.
To turn a breakthrough chemistry platform into a working company, Paul and Max needed builders. Gianluca joined to stand up the company IT infrastructure and the working rhythms that hold a young team together. Mariana joined to develop the first codebase, writing the early Python scripts that combined SMILES, RDKit, and molecular filter logic into the first version of our candidate-selection pipeline. The foundations of both the company and the software were laid.
Intelligence Joins the Platform.
As the platform matured, two co-founders stepped in to scale what Gianluca and Mariana had started. Reto Omlin joined as the infrastructure and organisational lead, taking over and expanding the operational and IT backbone from Gianluca. Janosch Menke, a computational chemist and machine learning engineer, took over from Mariana to architect the AI pre-selection engine: software that filters the billions of synthetically accessible diazo ylide derivatives down to the most disease-relevant candidates. The founding team was complete.
Swiss Innovation Backs DAOdiscovery.
In 2026, DAOdiscovery was awarded an Innosuisse Startup Grant, Switzerland's premier national innovation program, providing funding, structured coaching, and industry connections to bridge academic discovery and industrial application. With Innosuisse support, the team is now systematically scaling: expanding compound libraries, optimising and protecting synthetic routes, and engaging pharmaceutical partners. The patented synthesis platform and proprietary molecular libraries represent a genuinely novel class of chemical matter positioned for the next generation of precision oncology, CNS, and anti-infective therapeutics.
Building Tomorrow's Drugs, Today.
DAOdiscovery now operates at the intersection of synthetic chemistry, machine learning, and drug development. We hold patents on both our novel molecular scaffolds and the synthetic routes to access them at scale. Our AI engine collapses the search space from hundreds of millions of candidates to a tractable, high-priority set. With Innosuisse support and the guidance of advisors including Reto Hartmann, we are accelerating our pipeline toward pharma partnerships and clinical translation. The journey from two rival lab benches to a unified drug discovery platform is only the beginning.
The People
The Founders
Trained at LMU Munich and EPFL, Paul co-discovered N-heterocyclic diazoolefins during his postdoctoral research in the Severin group. He leads DAOdiscovery's commercial strategy, external partnerships, and day-to-day operations.
↗ LinkedInProfessor of Organic Chemistry at TU Dortmund and the pioneering architect of diazo ylide chemistry. Max directs DAOdiscovery's scientific strategy and leads the chemistry team targeting unmet medical needs.
↗ Research GroupThe People
Our Members
An experienced entrepreneur and technology executive, Reto builds the operational and commercial backbone that turns research excellence into a scalable product.
↗ LinkedInA computational chemist and machine learning engineer, Janosch architects the AI engine that pre-selects the most promising candidates from the billions of molecules our chemistry can access.
↗ LinkedInWith Gratitude
Early Builders
Not everyone walks the whole path, but every step mattered. With thanks to those who helped lay our foundations.
Built DAOdiscovery's earliest IT operations and kept everyone in sync, organising the meetings and working rhythms that turned a two-founder idea into a functioning team.
↗ LinkedInDrove the first steps of our codebase as our early subject-matter expert, laying the groundwork the AI pre-selection engine would later build on.
↗ LinkedIn