Peptris raises Rs 70 Cr in Series A funding co-led by IAN Alpha Fund, Speciale Invest

Peptris, a Bengaluru-based drug discovery company, has raised Rs 70 crore 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.

Peptris will use this capital to advance its existing programmes toward clinical readiness and to expand its pipeline over the next 24 months. The company plans to initiate several new chemical entity (NCE) programmes alongside multiple drug repurposing and rescue programs. It also aims to expand teams across biology, chemistry, data science, and AI, while building business development capabilities in the US and Europe to deepen partnerships with global pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

Founded in 2019, Peptris has built an AI-led discovery engine which addresses the issue of longer time taken for drug discovery and claims that its platform not only generates novel molecules but also helps predict critical drug development parameters early. It further said this enables faster and better-informed decision-making and has already resulted in the discovery of Novel Chemical Entities (NCEs) as well as drug repurposing and rescue opportunities.

Peptris follows a B2B engagement model, working closely with pharma, biotech, and select FMCG partners to license assets and co-develop programmes.

Narayanan Venkatasubramanian, Co-Founder and CEO, Peptris, said, “Our mission has been to harness AI to address meaningful healthcare challenges that enhance quality of life, not merely extend lifespan. The true reward lies in seeing this work translate into hope for patients, relief for caregivers, and a more accessible future for those with limited or unaffordable treatment options.”

Peptris was founded by Narayanan Venkatasubramanian, Shridhar Narayanan, Anand Budni and Amit Mahajan, who have extensive experience in the areas of AI drug discovery and computational science.

Peptris focuses on therapeutic areas including rare diseases, inflammation, oncology, and women’s health.