The AI-powered platform reduces time-to-market by effectively bridging experimental and computational biology
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Mithrl, an AI-powered platform revolutionizing scientific research, today announced a $4 million seed round to evolve the research and development process for scientific innovation globally. The round was led by Bonfire Ventures, a leading early-stage B2B VC firm known for backing founders who deliver transformative innovation to the industries they serve. The funds will accelerate the expansion of Mithrl's go-to-market team and the development of their platform that enables scientists to drive their own breakthroughs faster and more efficiently.
On average, scientists spend up to 80% of their time on data analysis and administrative tasks, sorting through terabytes of complex data versus making meaningful breakthroughs and discoveries. Mithrl accelerates research, reduces costs, and uncovers new insights that humans might overlook, allowing scientists to push the boundaries of discovery in ways previously unimaginable. Via Mithrl, processing and analyzing RNA sequencing data which traditionally takes around three months, now takes just a few minutes on the platform - with no training or coding requirements. The time saved has directly translated into Mithrl customers embarking on deeper scientific exploration that was not previously accessible.
In pharmaceutical development, the approval timelines in the United States can take ten to fifteen years, resulting in countless preventable lives lost in the process. Mithrl's long-term goal is to reduce novel therapy and drug approval times to a few years, transforming a traditionally slow process by automating complex analyses and insights from months of work to just minutes – giving scientists the headstart they deserve.
"Twenty years ago, I lost my grandfather to kidney failure – a disease that is now preventable but lacked breakthrough treatments at the time," said Vivek Adarsh, Mithrl's co-founder and CEO. "I often wonder, what if these treatments existed twenty years earlier? That was the lightbulb moment for Mithrl. Everyone, everywhere, has been impacted by devastating illness and disease. Yet, we haven't seen the drastic improvements needed to advance scientific development. That's the driving force behind Mithrl – because, in drug discovery, time saved directly translates to lives saved."
Transparency is crucial to navigate the complex landscape of regulatory compliance and to ensure the integrity of health innovations. Unlike traditional "black box" AI systems, which often face scrutiny over their decision-making, Mithrl developed a platform that prioritizes transparency and trustworthiness. The platform not only delivers in-depth results but also clear insights into how it reaches those specific findings. Scientists can examine the underlying code, methodology, and data transformations, enabling them to validate each step and build confidence in the platform's findings.
"We are scientists building for scientists, solving the very problem we once faced and wished we had a solution for," mentioned Shara Balakrishnan, Mithrl's co-founder, CTO and a biologist himself. "Scientists and computational experts often speak different languages, which can lead to a disconnect between the wet lab experiments and the dry lab data analysis and interpretation. Mithrl bridges this gap by bringing the power of advanced computation—once accessible only to bioinformaticians and computational biologists—into the hands of biologists, who have the deepest understanding of their own experiments."
The team has developed a sophisticated agentic system that is specialized in various aspects of data analysis and biological interpretation. This agentic approach enables the platform to autonomously handle complex research tasks, from raw data processing to in-depth analysis, all through a natural language interface. By reducing the need for a team of five experts to one, Mithrl's platform could save companies up to $100,000 per month in logistictical overheads. Mithrl adapts seamlessly to the specific context and questions of each experiment, offering researchers a versatile, efficient, and user-friendly tool.
"Mithrl isn't just another AI software company - it's redefining the future of scientific research," said Brett Queener, Managing Director at Bonfire Ventures. "Mithrl's platform democratizes the complex data analysis every lab wishes they could in 1/100th the time - unlocking a future today where scientists can move far more quickly through the experimentation process to deliver breakthrough results."
Mithril's platform is now available and designed for forward-thinking pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms, and research institutions looking to accelerate their drug discovery process. From emerging startups to established industry leaders, Mithril serves organizations that handle large volumes of scientific data and seek to streamline their research workflows.
For more information on Mithrl or to try out the platform, please visit mithrl.com
About Mithrl:
Mithrl is an AI startup revolutionizing scientific research through its agentic-powered platform. Founded by Vivek Adarsh, PhD and Shara Balakrishnan, PhD, Mithrl's mission is to accelerate scientific discovery by eliminating dry-lab bottlenecks that have long plagued the industry. By enabling researchers to process and analyze complex scientific data in minutes rather than months, Mithrl is not just making science faster and cheaper – it's expanding the horizons of what's possible in research. For more information on Mithrl or to try out the platform, please visit mithrl.com
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Ben Fitchett, Sling & Stone, 1 2134424789, [email protected]
SOURCE Mithrl; Sling & Stone
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