AI Cloud Labs Are Reshaping Drug Development Fast

Persist AI’s cloud lab speeds up drug R&D with AI and robotics, offering faster, cheaper formulation without traditional labs.

31 May 2025

Drug discovery is getting a digital makeover. Persist AI has raised $12 million to expand its AI-powered cloud lab, offering a glimpse into a future where pharmaceutical formulation happens at a keyboard, not a bench.

By merging artificial intelligence with robotics, Persist AI lets researchers design, test, and refine drug formulations entirely online. The company says it can run over 700 experiments in under two months, a pace traditional labs can rarely match.

This shift could be a game changer, especially for early-stage development. Predictive algorithms replace trial-and-error guesswork, while automation cuts down material waste and speeds up timelines. It’s a boost not just for biotech startups, but also for big pharma players looking to modernize.

“The model opens up high-performance formulation capabilities to teams everywhere, not just those with legacy lab infrastructure,” said a source close to the funding. Backers include Spero Ventures, whose general partner Sara Eshelman has championed remote-first lab models as a smarter, more flexible way forward.

Of course, disruption rarely arrives without hurdles. Pharma is a heavily regulated space, and digital labs will need to prove they can deliver traceable, reproducible results that meet FDA standards. Persist AI hasn’t detailed its regulatory roadmap yet, but the broader industry is actively working through how to make cloud-based labs compliant.

Still, the momentum is real. Persist AI’s “formulation as a service” approach allows companies to access high-end R&D tools without building their own labs. That levels the playing field for smaller players and nudges the whole industry toward a more nimble, data-driven future.

This funding round isn’t just about expansion. It marks a turning point: the lab of the future may already be here, and it fits inside a browser.