Investor Intelligence

12 Investors Funding the Next Generation of Drug Discovery

Investors with relevant activity across small molecules, targeted protein degradation, generative biology, AI drug discovery and precision therapeutics.

Published 24 September 2026

Drug Discovery
Biotech
AI Drug Discovery
Therapeutics
Europe

Drug discovery is attracting capital across several distinct models. Some investors are financing new therapeutic mechanisms directly, while others are backing computational platforms that identify targets, design proteins or prioritise experiments. Recent European rounds show these approaches increasingly sitting in the same investment landscape.

DealBio selected twelve investors to feature based on recent, relevant activity across early-stage drug discovery in Europe. The list is not a ranking.

ARGOBIO

European biotech venture studio and investor that creates and backs companies around differentiated therapeutic science.

Stage: Pre-Seed · Seed
Sector / Focus: Drug Discovery · Immunology · Therapeutics
Investment markets: France · The Netherlands
Investor type: Venture Studio / VC

Relevant investment

ARGOBIO created and pre-seed funded Enodia Therapeutics before participating in its €20.7 million seed financing in January 2026. Enodia is developing small molecules that target protein degradation at the point of synthesis, using proteomics and machine learning to identify druggable intervention points in immune-inflammatory disease and oncology.

Elaia

European VC investing in deep technology and science-led startups from early stage.

Stage: Seed
Sector / Focus: Deep Tech · Biotech · Drug Discovery
Investment markets: France · Europe
Investor type: VC

Relevant investment

Elaia co-led Enodia Therapeutics’ €20.7 million seed round in 2026 alongside Pfizer Ventures and Bpifrance. The financing backs a platform that combines proteomics, machine learning and small-molecule discovery to selectively interfere with disease-relevant protein production.

Pfizer Venture Investments

Corporate venture arm investing in biotechnology startups aligned with emerging therapeutic science.

Stage: Seed · Series A
Sector / Focus: Biotech · Therapeutics · Drug Discovery
Investment markets: France · Europe
Investor type: Corporate VC

Relevant investment

Pfizer Ventures co-led Enodia Therapeutics’ €20.7 million seed financing in 2026. The deal gives Pfizer exposure to a new targeted-protein-degradation mechanism that acts earlier in the protein-production process than conventional degradation approaches.

Bpifrance

French public investment institution providing equity and financing across innovation-led startups.

Stage: Seed · Series A
Sector / Focus: Biotech · Deep Tech · Health
Investment markets: France
Investor type: Public Investor

Relevant investment

Bpifrance co-led Enodia Therapeutics’ €20.7 million seed round through its InnoBio strategy. The funding is supporting a platform designed to discover small molecules that block the production and secretion of disease-related proteins at the point of synthesis.

Angelini Ventures

Corporate venture investor focused on healthcare and life-science innovation.

Stage: Seed · Series A
Sector / Focus: Therapeutics · Drug Discovery · Digital Health
Investment markets: Italy · France · The Netherlands · United Kingdom · Germany
Investor type: Corporate VC

Relevant investment

Angelini Ventures participated in Laigo Bio’s €11.5 million seed financing in December 2025, which later expanded to €17 million in 2026. Laigo’s SureTAC platform is designed to remove disease-relevant membrane proteins by routing them into lysosomal degradation, initially across oncology and autoimmune disease.

Kurma Partners

European healthcare investor specialising in biotechnology and medical innovation.

Stage: Seed · Series A
Sector / Focus: Biotech · Therapeutics · Drug Discovery
Investment markets: France · The Netherlands · Europe
Investor type: VC

Relevant investment

Kurma Partners co-led Laigo Bio’s initial €11.5 million seed financing in 2025 and added €1.5 million at the 2026 final close, helping bring the round to €17 million. Laigo’s SureTAC platform targets membrane proteins that have historically been difficult to drug, with programmes in oncology, immunology and autoimmune disease.

Sofinnova Partners

European life-sciences investor with strategies spanning biotechnology, medical devices and digital medicine.

Stage: Seed · Series A
Sector / Focus: Biotech · AI Drug Discovery · Life Sciences
Investment markets: France · United Kingdom · Europe
Investor type: VC

Relevant investment

Sofinnova Partners co-led Latent Labs’ $50 million financing in February 2025. Latent Labs is building generative AI foundation models that allow biotech and pharmaceutical teams to design and optimise proteins computationally, creating a faster route from desired biological function to molecules that can be tested in the lab.

Radical Ventures

AI-focused VC investing in frontier machine-learning startups.

Stage: Series A
Sector / Focus: AI · Generative Biology · Drug Discovery
Investment markets: United Kingdom · Europe
Investor type: VC

Relevant investment

Radical Ventures co-led Latent Labs’ $50 million financing with Sofinnova Partners. Latent Labs’ platform uses generative models for protein design, including protein binders and antibody-like molecules, placing Radical directly in the infrastructure layer of AI-enabled drug discovery.

redalpine

Pan-European VC investing across science, software and deep technology.

Stage: Seed · Series A
Sector / Focus: BioAI · Life Science Tools · Drug Discovery
Investment markets: Switzerland · Luxembourg · United Kingdom
Investor type: VC

Relevant investment

redalpine led Helical’s $10 million seed round in 2026. Helical is building a virtual AI laboratory that connects biological foundation models with disease-specific data to rank targets and experiments for pharmaceutical teams, aiming to make in-silico discovery reproducible rather than a collection of disconnected model outputs.

BoxGroup

Early-stage technology investor backing software, AI and science-led startups.

Stage: Seed
Sector / Focus: AI · Life Science Tools · Drug Discovery
Investment markets: Luxembourg · Europe
Investor type: VC

Relevant investment

BoxGroup participated in Helical’s $10 million seed round in 2026. Helical turns biological foundation models into decision-ready workflows for pharma R&D, helping research teams prioritise targets and hypotheses before committing to wet-lab experiments.

Frst

European seed investor backing technology startups from their earliest rounds.

Stage: Seed
Sector / Focus: AI · Deep Tech · BioAI
Investment markets: France · Luxembourg
Investor type: VC

Relevant investment

Frst invested in Helical at seed and participated again in its $10 million 2026 round. That follow-on exposure gives the fund a direct position in AI infrastructure designed to improve the throughput and reproducibility of drug-discovery research.

1517 Fund

Early-stage investor backing technical founders, scientists and research-driven startups.

Stage: Pre-Seed · Seed
Sector / Focus: Drug Discovery · Longevity · Deep Tech
Investment markets: Switzerland · Europe
Investor type: VC

Relevant investment

1517 Fund backed ImmuneAGE Bio, a Swiss drug-discovery startup focused on the biology of immune ageing. ImmuneAGE is developing therapeutic approaches intended to restore immune function and resilience by targeting mechanisms that deteriorate with age.

Methodology

DealBio builds investor lists using structured investor research, demonstrated investment activity and current public verification where needed. The methodology highlights investors with evidenced relevance to the article’s sector, stage and geography.

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Methodology

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