AI-driven drug discovery platform Peptris has raised Rs 70 crore (approximately $7.7 million) in a Series A funding round co-led by IAN Alpha Fund and Speciale Invest.
The round also saw participation from Tenacity Ventures, BYT Ventures, and other investors.
According to the company, the fresh capital will be utilised over the next 24 months to advance its existing programs toward clinical readiness, expand its drug discovery pipeline, and strengthen teams across biology, chemistry, data science, and artificial intelligence.
Founded in 2019 by Narayanan Venkatasubramanian, Shridhar Narayanan, Anand Budni, and Amit Mahajan, Peptris is a Bengaluru-based drug discovery company leveraging AI and advanced computational models to accelerate the identification of novel drug candidates.
The startup has built proprietary AI models capable of generating new molecules and predicting critical drug development parameters early in the discovery cycle.
Peptris focuses on addressing structural inefficiencies in traditional drug discovery, where high costs, long timelines, and scientific uncertainty—especially at the pre-clinical stage—often result in promising programs being discontinued before reaching clinical trials.
The company claims its platform helps reduce such failures by enabling faster, data-backed decision-making at early stages.
The startup stated that its approach has already led to the discovery of Novel Chemical Entities (NCEs) as well as drug repurposing and rescue opportunities, with multiple programs now progressing toward clinical development.
It plans to initiate several new NCE programs alongside additional repurposing initiatives involving shelved clinical-stage assets from other pharmaceutical companies.
Peptris operates on a B2B engagement model, partnering with pharmaceutical, biotech, and select FMCG companies to license assets and co-develop drug programs. Its therapeutic focus areas include rare diseases, inflammation, oncology, and women’s health, with the aim of delivering long-term impact for patients and healthcare systems globally.
