Peptris Raises INR 70 Cr Series A to Advance AI-Led Drug Discovery The funding round was co-led by IAN Alpha Fund and Speciale Invest, with participation from Tenacity Ventures, BYT Ventures and other investors.
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Bengaluru-based drug discovery startup Peptris has raised INR 70 crore (USD 7.7 million) in a Series A funding round co-led by IAN Alpha Fund and Speciale Invest, with participation from Tenacity Ventures, BYT Ventures and other investors.
The company said the fresh capital will support its research programs and strengthen scientific and technology teams.
Founded in 2019 by Narayanan Venkatasubramanian, Shridhar Narayanan, Anand Budni, and Amit Mahajan, Peptris develops artificial intelligence models that generate novel molecules and predict key drug development parameters. The company said its technology aims to reduce failures in early-stage drug development, where scientific uncertainty and high costs often prevent promising therapies from advancing.
In a statement, the company said the funds will be used "to advance existing programs toward clinical readiness and expand the discovery pipeline over the next 24 months." It also plans to strengthen teams across biology, chemistry, data science and artificial intelligence.
Peptris' platform has led to the discovery of Novel Chemical Entities (NCEs) and identified drug repurposing and rescue opportunities. By predicting efficacy, safety and other parameters early, the platform aims to enable faster decision-making and reduce time and cost in pre-clinical research.
The company focuses on therapeutic areas such as rare diseases, inflammation, oncology and women's health. It operates a B2B model, partnering with pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms to license assets and co-develop programs targeting global markets.
Peptris said it plans to initiate multiple new NCE programs and repurpose shelved clinical-stage compounds to accelerate development timelines.
The companies working in related drug discovery and biotech innovation include Bugworks Research, Pandorum Technologies, Elucidata, and DeepCure.ai.
