Persist AI has secured $12 million in an oversubscribed Series A round to accelerate pharmaceutical formulation through its newly launched Cloud Lab platform. The round was led by Spero Ventures, with participation from MBX Capital, Shimadzu Future Innovation Fund (managed by Global Brain), Eli Lilly & Company, SignalFire, Ford Street Capital, Purdue Ventures, Good AI Capital, Cartography Capital, Asymmetry Ventures, and returning investors 2048 Ventures, Innospark, and Y Combinator.
With this funding, Persist AI introduces a web-based platform that allows pharmaceutical companies to build and test drug formulations remotely using a robotic lab. The system significantly speeds up development timelines while reducing material usage—positioning Persist as a transformative force in CMC and drug formulation.
While pharmaceutical R&D has embraced AI for drug discovery, formulation development has often lagged behind. Persist AI addresses this gap by enabling companies to predict and test formulations using advanced AI models and robotic automation. In a recent case with a major pharma company, Persist identified a long-acting injectable formulation in just two months—a task that typically takes over a year.
"Every drug that reaches the market depends on an optimal formulation... formulation has remained a blind spot—until now," said Sara Eshelman, General Partner at Spero Ventures.
The Cloud Lab allows scientists to control Persist’s robotic lab remotely and test predicted formulations using miniature automated instruments. Persist’s system dramatically reduces the materials needed—just 1 mL of liquid and a few milligrams of formulation, compared to the traditional 1000 mL and several grams.
This leads to faster, more cost-effective testing. The platform supports various drug modalities including peptides, small molecules, antibodies, and anti-sense oligonucleotides. It is already being used by several top 10 pharmaceutical companies and smaller biotechs working on chronic disease treatments.
"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.
The Series A funds will support several initiatives. Persist will establish a GMP manufacturing system for long-acting injectables in partnership with Nivagen Pharmaceuticals. It also plans to expand its robotic lab and build out richer datasets to train its AI models.
Additionally, the company will grow its team and improve its platform's capacity to predict, build, and test a broader range of formulations. Persist is actively looking for co-development partnerships with pharmaceutical companies to further its AI and robotics roadmap.
"Persist AI has assembled a talented chemistry, engineering, and software team that develops exceptional automated solutions," said Chris Shelner, COO.
Founded by Karthik Raman and Christopher Shelner, Persist AI is headquartered in Sacramento, California. It emerged from Y Combinator’s 2023 batch and combines AI prediction with robotic automation to shorten the drug development lifecycle.
Raman previously worked on robotic systems at Zymergen, and Shelner brings experience from Apple and Northrop Grumman. Together, they are leading Persist’s charge into modernizing pharmaceutical formulation workflows.
Persist’s Series A investors include:
