Drug discovery startup Peptris raises $1 million funding from Speciale Invest, others

Peptris Technologies, a Bengaluru-based artificial intelligence (AI)-powered drug discovery company, on Tuesday said it has raised $1 million in a funding round led by deep tech-focused venture capital firm Speciale Invest.

The company did not disclose the names of other investors in the round or the valuation at which the funds were raised. This was the first time Peptris raised institutional capital. It is looking to raise more funds in another, larger round after six months, cofounder and chief executive Narayanan Venkatasubramanian told ET in an interaction.

Founded in 2019 by Shridhar Narayanan, Venkatasubramanian, Anand Budni, and Amit Mahajan, Peptris Technologies uses AI to accelerate the development of new drugs, particularly those focusing on oncology, inflammation, and rare diseases.


The firm develops models that allow scientists to predict late-stage failures in clinical testing. They also help to determine side effects and build the right safety profile for drug molecules, Venkatasubramanian told ET.

Peptris is currently running multiple projects. While the ones concerning oncology and inflammation are focused on testing molecules for drug development, others help to discover the potential of existing drugs to be repurposed into new drugs for rare diseases.

The firm is looking for drugs that can be repurposed to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare disease that causes progressive muscular weakness. It expects to have a repurposed drug ready to go into clinical trials in one-an-half years, Venkatasubramanian said. Peptris collaborates with pharmaceutical companies to develop and test the drugs made using molecules discovered by it.

Peptris’ work aligns perfectly with Speciale’s investment strategy, said Vishesh Rajaram, managing partner at Speciale Invest. “We hope this partnership will help leverage India’s pharmaceutical expertise and computational talents, making a significant impact globally,” he added.