IAN Alpha Fund co-leads ₹70 Cr Series A funding round in Peptris

New Delhi: IAN Alpha Fund, the 2nd in the series of IAN Group’s VC funds, along with Speciale Invest, has co-led a ₹70 crore Series A funding round in Peptris, a Bengaluru-based AI-powered drug discovery company. The round also saw participation from Tenacity Ventures, BYT Ventures, and other investors.

The investment strengthens Peptris’ proposition as one of the leading Indian AI drug discovery platforms progressing beyond molecule generation towards clinical-ready assets. It is an opportune time for such an investment, as companies like Peptris not only help drug companies globally reduce development costs amid high failure rates but also assist with life-cycle management of their patents.

Founded in 2019, Peptris has built an AI-led discovery engine that addresses one of the most persistent problems in healthcare: despite scientific advances, drug discovery remains slow, expensive, and failure-prone, leaving large unmet medical needs. This challenge is most acute in the pre-clinical stage, where time, capital, and scientific uncertainty often derail promising programs much before drugs reach the clinical stage.

Peptris’ differentiator is its proprietary AI models, which not only generate novel molecules but also help predict critical drug development parameters early. 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, with multiple programs now advancing towards clinical development.

This fresh capital infusion will be used to advance its existing programs toward clinical readiness and to significantly expand its pipeline over the next 24 months. The company plans to initiate several new NCE programs, alongside multiple drug repurposing and rescue programs (shelved clinical stage drugs of other companies). The company will also expand teams across biology, chemistry, data science, and AI, while building dedicated business development capabilities in the US and Europe to deepen partnerships with global pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

Peptris follows a B2B engagement model, working closely with pharma, biotech, and select FMCG partners to license assets and co-develop programs. Several of its discovery programs each address multi-billion-dollar global market opportunities, underlining the company’s value potential.

Peptris is led by a founding team comprising Narayanan Venkatasubramanian (CEO), Shridhar Narayanan (CSO), Anand Budni (CTO), and Amit Mahajan (Chief Data Scientist), bringing together deep expertise across AI drug discovery and computational science. The team combines strong academic grounding with hands-on experience in building technology-led platforms and translating complex biological problems into data-driven solutions. With strengths spanning pharmacology, advanced computation, and applied AI, the founders are well positioned to drive innovation at the intersection of science and technology and scale Peptris’ discovery engine.

Narayanan Venkatasubramanian, Co-founder & 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 is especially encouraged to have IAN Alpha Fund share this conviction as an early backer, reinforcing our commitment to building impactful, patient-centered innovation.

Rajnish Kapur, Managing Partner, IAN Alpha Fund, said, “Drug discovery is becoming economically unsustainable, with expenses nearly doubling every nine years and pre-clinical development swallowing disproportionate time and capital. The use of AI for molecule discovery, which re-engineers the economics of early drug discovery by enabling faster decisions, reducing costs, and significantly accelerating go-to-market timelines, really excited us. This is driven by a team with scientific depth and computational rigor.This innovation could absolutely help change the drug discovery ecosystem not only in India but globally. At its core, this investment is about serving humanity better.”

Peptris focuses on therapeutic areas including rare diseases, inflammation, oncology, and women’s health to deliver a durable impact for patients, caregivers, and healthcare systems globally.