Enveda, a biotech startup that uses AI to discover new drugs from the natural world, has raised a $311 million Series E at a $2 billion valuation. The round was led by Catalio Capital Management, with participation from Iconiq and other investors, and doubles the valuation the company reached 12 months ago.
Founded in 2019 by Viswa Colluru, an early employee of Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Enveda is built on the premise that powerful medicines can be harnessed from plants and microbes rather than synthesized from scratch in a lab. The company applies AI and other techniques to accelerate the process of identifying these nature-derived drug candidates.
The new funding will help Enveda move more of its AI-discovered candidates into clinical trials. The startup is already testing several drugs in patients, including one aimed at severe skin conditions and another designed to help people maintain weight loss after they stop taking GLP-1 medications.
Although AI has yet to produce an FDA-approved drug, Enveda is part of a growing group of companies pushing AI-discovered therapies into human trials, positioning it among the leaders seeking to prove the technology’s value in real-world drug development.
Featured image: Credit: Enveda
