Over the last 18 months, the Toronto-based firm has launched a new version of its product and rolled out automations in its engineering, operations and science functions, CEO Liran Belenzon said in a post. He added that the shift “required a redesign” of the company. BenchSci chief of staff Christina Peck said the changes affected 68 workers. (The Logic)

Talking point: BenchSci sells AI tools to speed up the process of drug development. The firm’s technology uses clients’ data and scientific literature to help researchers analyze diseases. Last year, it signed deals with lab equipment giant Thermo Fisher Scientific and pharmaceutical majors Merck and Sanofi. BenchSci has raised US$174 million, per PitchBook data. Founded in November 2015, it has rebuilt both its product and its internal operations around the multi-purpose foundation models that power generative tools. “Agents are now doing real, meaningful work alongside our people,” Belenzon wrote. Last August, the firm laid off 23 per cent of staff, citing productivity gains from AI and claiming it was not facing any business challenges. BenchSci did not answer questions about whether that’s still the case for the latest layoff, or which teams are affected.