Venomics AI Raises $2.7 Million in Pre-Seed Round
The IISc spin-out's round was co-led by Speciale Invest and South Park Commons.
Key Takeaways
- Venomics AI raised $2.7 million in a pre-seed round.
- Speciale Invest and South Park Commons co-led, with Operators Studio participating.
- It is the company's first institutional funding round.
- The Bengaluru startup was spun out of IISc and is co-founded by professor Kartik Sunagar and Vinay Prabhu.
- It joined the NVIDIA Inception programme before the round.
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Venomics AI, a Bengaluru biotech startup spun out of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), has raised $2.7 million in a pre-seed round. The company uses venom biology and AI to find molecules in animal venoms that could be developed into drugs.
The round was co-led by Speciale Invest and South Park Commons, with Operators Studio also taking part. It is the first institutional funding round for the company, which was co-founded by IISc professor Kartik Sunagar and Vinay Prabhu.
Venomics AI funding at a glance
| Detail | Venomics AI |
|---|---|
| Amount | $2.7 million |
| Round | Pre-seed (first institutional round) |
| Lead investors | Speciale Invest and South Park Commons |
| Other investors | Operators Studio |
| Sector | Biotech, AI-led drug discovery |
| City | Bengaluru |
What Venomics AI does
Venomics AI looks for drug candidates in animal venoms. Some venom-derived molecules have already become medicines. The drug captopril was inspired by snake venom peptides, and ziconotide is derived from a cone snail venom peptide.
The company sequences venoms to build the Venom Atlas, its molecular dataset. It then uses AI to rank likely drug candidates and tests those predictions in the lab. The results of each round of testing feed back into the next set of predictions.
The IISc scientist and the AI builder behind Venomics AI
Kartik Sunagar is a Director of Venomics AI and a professor at IISc, where his research covers venom evolution and antivenom development. Vinay Prabhu is the Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer. He holds a PhD from Carnegie Mellon University.
| When | Milestone |
|---|---|
| Before this round | Venomics AI joined the NVIDIA Inception programme |
| Before this round | It was named a Top 5 finalist for the 2026 Indo-Boston Biotech Bridge Award |
| 5 November 2026 | It announced a $2.7 million pre-seed round, its first institutional funding |
What Venomics AI says it will do with the $2.7 million
The company said in its announcement that the funding will go into expanding the Venom Atlas and strengthening its AI and lab screening capabilities. It said it will also hire across venom biology, computational science and drug discovery, and validate and optimise its most promising molecules.
Where Venomics AI stands after its first institutional round
With this round, Venomics AI has its first institutional backing from Speciale Invest, South Park Commons and Operators Studio. The company has joined the NVIDIA Inception programme.
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