AI-driven robotics platform reduces drug formulation development time from years to months
SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 19, 2025 -- Persist AI, a pioneer in AI-driven robotics for pharmaceutical formulation development and Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC), today announced the launch of its innovative Cloud Lab platform following the successful closure of an oversubscribed $12 million Series A financing round. The new platform allows pharmaceutical companies to develop formulations using Persist AI's state-of-the-art robotic laboratory facilities through a website, dramatically accelerating drug development timelines while using a fraction of the materials required by traditional methods.
The funding round was led by Spero Ventures with participation from MBX Capital, Shimadzu Future Innovation Fund managed by Global Brain Corporation, Eli Lilly & Company, SignalFire, Ford Street Capital, Purdue Ventures, Good AI Capital, Cartography Capital, Asymmetry Ventures, and existing investors 2048 Ventures, Innospark, and YCombinator.
"Every drug that reaches the market depends on an optimal formulation. While the industry has heavily invested in AI and predictive tools across the drug development pipeline, formulation has remained a blind spot—until now." said Sara Eshelman, General Partner at Spero Ventures. "Persist dramatically reduces both the time and cost at every stage of development, ultimately lowering the hurdle for investment in next-generation therapeutics like long-acting injectables."
Predict the ideal formulation with Persist's AI models
Persist AI's technology enables pharmaceutical companies to predict formulation recipes and performance using sophisticated AI models and subsequently build and test them using robotic systems. In a recent project with a major pharmaceutical client, Persist AI demonstrated the power of its platform by identifying an optimal long-acting injectable formulation in just two months—a process that traditionally takes a year or longer. By rapidly building and testing 700 formulations in two months, compared to the industry standard of 10-15 formulations per month, Persist AI accelerates a critical phase in bringing new drugs to market.
"AI is enabling pharma to discover new molecules faster than ever. But a molecule that has poor shelf life cannot become a drug product that sits on a shelf. Our mission is to convert these novel molecules into products, such as tablets and injections that patients can use," said Karthik Raman, CEO of Persist. "If you can find a new drug molecule, you can predict its formulation and use our robotic platform to build and test it in the real world."
Persist Cloud Lab – A Robotic Lab to Build and Test Formulations Remotely
Once the AI models predict a set of formulations, Persist's Cloud Lab enables pharmaceutical scientists to test the formulation by remotely controlling the robotic lab. With a combination of miniaturization and seamless automation of formulation testing instruments, Persist's technology leads to an unprecedented speed advantage in drug development.
Traditional testing instruments often require large volumes of liquid and significant amounts of formulation material per test. As an example, a standard dissolution testing apparatus requires 1000 mL of liquid and several grams of formulation. In contrast, Persist's miniaturized systems can deliver results with just 1 mL of liquid and a few milligrams of material. This breakthrough not only conserves valuable drugs but also enables higher throughput testing.
"Persist AI has assembled a talented chemistry, engineering, and software team that develops exceptional automated solutions for formulation development workflows," said Chris Shelner, COO of Persist. "We continue to improve our automation in addition to expanding capacity and workflow scope."
Through the newly launched Cloud Lab, pharmaceutical companies worldwide can now remotely build and test formulations on Persist's advanced robotic facilities to develop:
- Long acting injectables
- Tablets and capsules
- Topical formulations for cosmetics and pharmaceuticals
- Injectable formulations
The platform supports a wide range of modalities including peptides, small molecules, antibodies, and anti-sense oligonucleotides, currently serving multiple top 10 pharmaceutical clients and several smaller biotechs developing next-generation treatments for chronic diseases.
Series A Funding to Accelerate Growth and Innovation
The $12 million in Series A funding will support several key initiatives. Persist will build a GMP manufacturing system for long acting injectables, in collaboration with Nivagen Pharmaceuticals in Sacramento, CA. Funds will be used to expand the robotic lab and build comprehensive data sets that train the company's AI models. Additionally, the team will expand the capacity and range of formulations the AI models and robotic lab can predict, build, and test.
Persist is actively seeking pharmaceutical partners for co-development of drug products, robotic platforms, and AI training data sets.
To learn more about Persist AI's Cloud Lab platform and request access, visit https://www.persist-ai.com. Pharmaceutical companies interested in partnership opportunities are encouraged to contact Karthik Raman via his email below or through the website.
About Persist AI
Persist AI is revolutionizing pharmaceutical development through AI-driven robotics for formulation development and CMC. By combining predictive AI models with automated robotic systems, Persist AI enables pharmaceutical companies to develop drug formulations in a fraction of the time and cost of traditional approaches. The company works across multiple modalities and formulation types to accelerate bringing novel therapeutics to patients. Persist AI is a Y Combinator-backed company, having graduated from the prestigious startup accelerator in 2023.
About the Leadership Team
Karthik Raman, CEO and Co-founder of Persist, brings extensive expertise in formulation development. Prior to founding Persist, Raman was part of the automation team at Zymergen, developing the next generation robotic factory for synthetic biology. Co-founder Christopher Shelner serves as Chief Operating Officer, with significant expertise in automation design, operations, and deployment from his work at industry leaders including Northrop Grumman and Apple.
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