Business · Companies · 13 hrs ago
Swiss startup Atlas Bio raises $12.5 million for AI drug trials
Swiss startup Atlas Bio launched with $12.5 million in funding to develop AI tools for drug development.
The company says its model learns from about two million RNA readouts from human tissue to simulate how drugs may affect different patients.
Its virtual trials aim to identify which patients and diseases may benefit before drugmakers design a Phase II trial.
These trials are a costly stage of testing, and the company says about 70% of drugs fail there.
Atlas Bio says simulations can take 12 weeks and could help improve trial design while reducing reliance on animal studies.
In 2022, the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 removed the legal requirement for animal testing before human trials in the United States.
Atlas Bio is working with a top 10 global pharma company and is in talks with several others, but the company has not said what comes next for those discussions.
Swiss startup Atlas Bio launched from stealth with $12.5 million in funding, according to Tech.eu.
The Basel-based company is developing an AI model to simulate clinical trials before Phase II.
Atlas Bio says its simulations could help identify which patients and diseases respond to a drug.
The company aims to reduce costly trial failures and reliance on animal testing.
Handelsblatt reported the funding as $11 million, differing from Tech.eu’s $12.5 million figure.
- Who
- Swiss startup Atlas Bio, founded by Simon Romanski and Sebastian Bayer.
- What
- It launched from stealth and raised funding to develop an AI model for virtual clinical trials.
- When
- October 27, 2026.
- Where
- Basel, Switzerland.
- Why
- The company aims to improve drug development by simulating patient responses before Phase II trials.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The FDA Modernization Act 2.0 removed the legal requirement for animal testing before human trials, according to Tech.eu.
Atlas Bio was founded by Simon Romanski and Sebastian Bayer.
Atlas Bio launched from stealth and announced funding; Tech.eu reported $12.5 million, while Handelsblatt reported $11 million.
- Funding reported by Tech.eu
- $12.5 million total
- Funding reported by Handelsblatt
- $11 million
- Seed round
- $10 million, led by Creandum
- Model training data
- Roughly 2 million RNA readouts from human tissue
- Simulation project
- 12 weeks
- Company base
- Basel, Switzerland
2 sources
What people are saying
Both are now becoming outdated. Human biology is finally legible to AI - and that changes the economics of this entire industry.
Atlas Bio is the end of Phase II as we know it, and the end of animal testing as the price of progress.