Israeli start-up bags $5 million Series A to drive development of new AI models.
Like London buses, we write about one company using artificial intelligence to discover new peptide candidates, and then another one comes along almost immediately! Are we witnessing a new trend in peptide discovery?
In August, we introduced you to Nuritas – the Irish start-up using artificial intelligence and DNA analysis to discover bioactive peptides for the prevention and treatment diseases within food. And now Jerusalem-based Pepticom has announced a Series A funding round of $5 million for its AI technology, which streamlines and accelerates the ability of researchers to discover advanced peptide-based drug candidates.
Pepticom’s technology is designed to analyze trillions of possible molecular options – far beyond the capability of current screening techniques. The company’s AI platform also filters out the most suitable candidates, based on properties such as solubility and permeability. The funding will be used to facilitate the development of new AI models to further increase molecular discovery efficacy while reducing risk for the next stages of development.
“Pepticom already improves discovery time by almost a year, and this investment will further reduce that time and thus improve time to market considerably,” said Immanuel Lerner, Founder and CEO of Pepticom.
Pepticom’s funding came from private equity giant, The Chartered Group, which has clearly identified Longevity as a key area of investment, with Pepticom the seventh company in its portfolio with a Longevity focus. Israel has already been identified by the Aging Analytics Agency as a key growth market for Longevity.
“We made this investment out of our belief in Pepticom’s application of AI in peptide drug discovery and the Israeli high-tech industry,” said Eyal Agmoni, Chairman of Chartered Group and High Tech division. “Pepticom’s unique AI platform allows for multifaceted collaborations, and we are excited to join this company as it revolutionizes peptide drug discovery. The funding will allow the further development of Pepticom’s unique technology and specific applications.”
