First-time VC raises $27.5M to back AI drug development startups

First-time fund manager breaks through

Sahir Raoof, a former SignalFire investor and healthcare startup executive, raised twenty-seven point five million for Proximal Ventures despite tough fundraising conditions for debut fund managers.

The bet: AI transforms drug development

Proximal Ventures believes AI can automate the tools, infrastructure, and services that pharmaceutical companies outsource, from synthesizing compounds to analyzing clinical trial data.

Pharma is a services buyer, not software

Raoof told TechCrunch that pharmaceutical companies have historically outsourced drug development stages to specialized service providers rather than buying software solutions.

“For a long time, the assumption was that pharma is not a great buyer of software, but a really good buyer of services.”

AI could capture billions in pharma spending

Raoof believes AI-powered startups could deliver pharmaceutical services at lower cost and significantly less time, creating an opportunity to capture billions in industry spending.

Seven startups already backed

Proximal plans to invest five hundred thousand to one point five million dollars per startup at pre-seed and seed stages.Portfolio company ChronicleBio, co-founded by former OpenAI executive Fidji Simo, uses AI to analyze biological data.

Raoof's healthcare credentials attract backers

Raoof led business development at clinical trial startup Iterative Health and partnerships at Flatiron Health, acquired by Roche for one point nine billion dollars in two thousand eighteen.

FDA veteran backs Raoof's judgment

Amy Abernethy, co-founder of Highlander Health and former principal deputy commissioner of the FDA, invested in Proximal.She credits Raoof's ability to build relationships and spot industry bottlenecks as key to his success as an investor.