Venomics AI raises $2.7 million pre-seed round
7 million in a pre-seed round co-led by Speciale Invest and South Park Commons.
Venomics AI, a biotechnology company spun out of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), has raised US$2.7 million in its first institutional funding round. The pre-seed round was co-led by Speciale Invest and South Park Commons, with participation from Operators Studio.
The proceeds will go toward expansion, growing its molecular dataset, and strengthening its AI and laboratory screening capabilities.
Venomics AI was co-founded in May this year by Sunagar and Vinay Prabhu. The Bengaluru-based company combines venom biology, molecular sequencing, AI and experimental screening to discover and develop venom-derived therapeutic leads.
It builds the Venom Atlas to connect venom-derived molecular data with laboratory validation and drug discovery. AI prioritises candidates, and those predictions are tested through functional screening in the laboratory. The results feed back into later predictions and molecular design, connecting computational discovery with evidence of how molecules perform.
The company has established the initial architecture of its platform, joined the NVIDIA Inception programme, and been selected among the Top 5 finalists for the 2026 Indo-Boston Biotech Bridge Award. It plans to build a multidisciplinary team across venom biology, computational science and drug discovery, and to support the validation and optimisation of promising molecules.
Startups in this space are exploring bioactive peptides and proteins found in snake, scorpion and marine animal venoms to identify molecules with potential applications in pain management, neurological disorders, cardiovascular diseases and other therapeutic areas. Snaayu Lifesciences, incubated at C-CAMP, is working on isolating and characterising novel analgesic compounds from cone snail venom.
By combining India’s venom biodiversity with its scientific and computational expertise, Venomics AI aims to build a drug discovery platform in India for global therapeutic development.
The broader AI-driven drug discovery landscape is also attracting investor interest. Bengaluru-based Peptris Technologies raised Rs 70 crore in a Series A round co-led by IAN Alpha Fund and Speciale Invest in February this year, using AI-generated molecular discovery and experimental validation to advance potential drug candidates.
