Bringing a new medicine from the laboratory to patients typically takes 10 to 15 years. Much of that time is spent long before clinical trials begin, as researchers search for the right biological tools, test countless possibilities, and eliminate thousands of failures. That’s the part some startups now believe artificial intelligence can shorten.
Around the world, researchers are increasingly using AI to design proteins, predict molecular structures, and accelerate drug discovery, tasks that traditionally take years of experimentation. Investors are beginning to see biology as one of AI’s next major opportunity.
That shift is now reaching India.
Bengaluru based Mandrake Bio has raised ₹16 crore in a pre-seed funding round to build a Generative AI platform that designs programmable gene-editing enzymes for medicine and agriculture. The round was co-led by Activate and Antler India, with participation from Spectrum Impact, DeVC, and angel investors including Vijay Chandru, Paras Chopra, Sanjiv Rangrass, and Vatsal Dusad.
Founded in 2025 by Tanay Lohia and Dr. Kutubuddin Molla, the startup is working on a problem that’s largely invisible to most people but fundamental to modern biotechnology. Developing new gene-editing tools often requires years of biological research and repeated laboratory testing. Mandrake aims to use generative AI to design these enzymes computationally, potentially allowing researchers to identify promising candidates much faster before moving into the lab.
The idea reflects a broader transformation taking place across the biotech industry. AI is no longer being viewed simply as a tool for analysing medical data; it is increasingly being used to build the biological components behind future therapies. From protein design to drug discovery, scientific research is becoming one of artificial intelligence’s fastest growing applications.
Mandrake Bio is still in its early days, and turning AI-designed enzymes into real-world therapies will take years of scientific validation. But that’s not what investors are buying today. They’re backing the idea that AI can move beyond assisting scientists to becoming part of the discovery process itself. If that proves true, AI’s biggest contribution to healthcare may begin long before a patient ever walks into a hospital, it could start in the laboratory where tomorrow’s medicines first take shape.
