Bangalore Startup Uses AI to Speed Up Drug Discovery

Finding new medicines takes over a decade and billions of dollars, with most candidates failing after years of expensive lab testing. Peptris Technologies in Bangalore is using AI to spot those failures before they happen.

The startup's platform does something pharmaceutical companies desperately need: it predicts whether a molecule will actually work as medicine before anyone spends years testing it in a lab. The AI analyzes how compounds behave in the body, flags toxicity risks, and suggests improvements.

Founded in 2019 by a team split between computer scientists and pharmacologists, Peptris brings together two worlds that haven't always spoken the same language. CEO Narayanan Venkatasubramanian and his co-founders built software that can sift through millions of potential drug structures and narrow them down to the handful worth making.

The company doesn't just design new molecules. It also rescues old ones, finding fresh uses for compounds that failed their original purpose or repurposing drugs that already have safety data attached.

Their approach has already produced real results. PEPR-124, discovered on their platform, has been licensed to Revio Therapeutics for development as a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a devastating genetic disorder that wastes away muscles. The US FDA granted it orphan drug designation, which provides incentives for rare disease treatments.

In February 2026, Peptris raised 70 crore rupees (about $7.7 million) in Series A funding to expand their pipeline and build partnerships in North America and Europe. The company is focusing on rare diseases, inflammation, cancer, and women's health, an area that historically receives less research funding than it deserves.

The Ripple Effect

India has long been known for making generic drugs cheaply, but creating new medicines has remained out of reach. AI-powered discovery could change that equation without requiring Western-sized research budgets.

Peptris joins a growing wave of Indian AI drug discovery companies proving innovation doesn't require the most money, just the smartest approach. While no Peptris-discovered compound has completed clinical trials yet, getting a candidate to Phase 2-readiness represents years of traditional work compressed into a fraction of the time.

Every drug that reaches patients faster means someone who might have waited years for treatment won't have to.