Venomics AI, an IISc spin-out, raises $2.7 Mn pre-seed to map animal venoms into drug leads with AI

Venomics AI, a biotechnology company spun out of the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru, has raised $2.7 million in its first institutional funding round. Entrackr and ETEntrepreneur both report that the pre-seed was co-led by Speciale Invest and South Park Commons, with Operators Studio also taking part. The company said the money will expand its molecular dataset, strengthen AI and laboratory screening, and grow a team across venom biology, computational science and drug discovery.

The startup combines venom biology, molecular sequencing, AI and experimental screening to find venom-derived molecules that could become medicines. Its Venom Atlas is meant to connect sequenced venom peptides with measured activity in the lab, then feed those results back into models that rank the next candidates. BioSpectrum notes that animal venoms already inspired known drugs such as captopril and ziconotide, while most of the molecular diversity across venomous species is still unexplored.

Co-founders Kartik Sunagar, who runs the Evolutionary Venomics Lab at IISc, and Vinay Prabhu, who brings machine learning experience from Silicon Valley, launched the company in 2026. Coverage says Venomics AI has set up the first architecture of its platform, joined NVIDIA's Inception programme, and reached the top five finalists for the 2026 Indo-Boston Biotech Bridge Award. Speciale Invest's public note on the deal stresses proprietary wet-lab data as the edge that trains the models.

The raise is small by late-stage standards but large for a first institutional cheque in Indian AI-biotech. The near-term test is whether the Venom Atlas grows fast enough to produce validated leads, not only papers. Until those molecules clear lab and regulatory gates, the platform remains a discovery bet rather than a commercial drug company.