Persist AI Raises $12M to Expand AI-Powered Drug Formulation Platform
Persist AI, a robotics and artificial intelligence company focused on pharmaceutical development, has closed an oversubscribed $12 million Series A funding round. The round was led by Spero Ventures and attracted a mix of strategic and venture investors across biotech, pharma, and AI.
New investors include MBX Capital, Shimadzu Future Innovation Fund, Eli Lilly & Company, and SignalFire. Other backers in this round are Ford Street Capital, Purdue Ventures, Good AI Capital, Cartography Capital, and Asymmetry Ventures. Returning supporters 2048 Ventures, Innospark, and Y Combinator also joined.
Alongside the funding, Persist AI launched its Cloud Lab platform — a web-based system that allows pharmaceutical companies to design drug formulations remotely. Using advanced AI and robotic automation, the Cloud Lab aims to reduce drug development timelines while using significantly fewer materials.
Accelerating Drug Formulation with Robotics and AI
Persist AI’s platform merges predictive AI with automated robotics to forecast, build, and test drug formulations. The system helps pharmaceutical companies move faster through early-stage formulation by enabling real-time iteration. This approach improves efficiency and cuts costs compared to traditional lab methods.
The newly secured capital will support the expansion of Persist AI’s robotic lab. It will also be used to build datasets that power the company's AI models. Additionally, funds will go toward developing a manufacturing practice system for long-acting injectables (LAIs) through a collaboration with Nivagen Pharmaceuticals.
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By combining AI modeling with robotic execution, the company aims to address a key gap in pharmaceutical R&D: translating promising molecules into shelf-stable drug products like tablets and injections.
Expanding the Market for Long-Acting Injectables
Persist AI’s partnership with Nivagen, established in 2024, focuses on the co-development of a next-generation LAI manufacturing process. This collaboration seeks to simplify and speed up the development and regulatory approval of LAI drugs, which offer sustained release over weeks or months.
These drugs could improve treatment adherence and outcomes for chronic conditions by reducing the need for frequent dosing.
Persist AI previously raised $4 million in seed funding in 2023, led by 2048 Ventures and supported by Innospark Ventures, Fellows Fund, Pioneer Fund, Y Combinator, and Jovono.
