Adaptyv raises USD 8 million to accelerate AI-powered protein validation

Adaptyv Biosystems, a biotech start-up based in Épalinges on the Biopôle life sciences campus, has raised USD 8 million (CHF 6.4 million) in seed funding to expand its automated cloud laboratory for AI-generated protein validation. The round was led by ACE Ventures, with participation from ByFounders, Founderful, LongGame Ventures, and several individual investors.

Founded by Julian Englert (CEO) and Daniel Nakhaee-Zadeh (CTO), Adaptyv addresses one of the biggest bottlenecks in modern protein engineering: experimental validation. While artificial intelligence can generate thousands of potential protein structures in silico, verifying their performance in the lab remains slow, expensive, and technically complex.

Adaptyv’s solution automates the full “design–test–learn” cycle, connecting AI models directly to experimental data. Through its cloud-based laboratory, researchers can upload their protein designs, run real-world validation tests, and receive experimental results—all remotely. The platform enables faster, more reliable iteration between computational design and experimental proof.

Since its beta launch, Adaptyv has already tested over 10,000 proteins in collaboration with more than 30 pharma, biotech, and AI research partners worldwide. During an international competition, the company’s system increased the protein success rate from 2.5% to 13% in just two months, demonstrating its potential to accelerate therapeutic and industrial protein development.

Where automation, biotechnology and machine learning converge

With the new funding, Adaptyv plans to expand its platform’s capacity, diversify its range of biochemical assays, enhance automation, and release an API connecting AI models directly to laboratory outputs. The goal is to make experimental validation as scalable as protein design itself.

“AI models for biology are only as good as the experimental data they’re trained on,” said CEO Julian Englert. “We’re building the missing link between computational design and real-world validation.”

Building on its CHF 2.5 million pre-seed round in 2022, Adaptyv continues to exemplify Western Switzerland’s strength in AI-driven life sciences innovation, where automation, biotechnology and machine learning converge to redefine the future of protein engineering.