Mandrake Bio: Innovating Protein Design with AI

Mandrake Bio, a trailblazing protein design startup, has successfully secured around Rs 16 crore in a pre-seed funding round, co-led by Activate and Antler. This funding round also saw participation from Spectrum Impact and DeVC, along with investments from angel investors like Vijay Chandru, Paras Chopra, Sanjiv Rangrass, and Vatsal Du. The funds will contribute to advancing the company’s AI-driven protein design platform, enhancing its research team in AI and biophysics, and facilitating wet lab validation of its gene editing enzymes aimed at agricultural and medical use, as stated by Mandrake Bio in a recent press release.

Company Overview

Founded in March 2025 by Tanay Lohia and Kutubuddin Molla, Mandrake Bio focuses on developing programmable gene editing enzymes utilizing generative AI, biophysics, and wet lab validation. The startup’s goal is to create compact and precise enzymes applicable in both agriculture and medicine.

Technological Advancements

The technology employed by Mandrake Bio is designed to significantly reduce the time necessary to develop enhanced crop varieties using gene editing techniques. Moreover, it also aims to facilitate the creation of therapies for genetic disorders.

Unique Approach

In contrast to traditional methods reliant on naturally occurring gene editing systems like CRISPR Cas9, Mandrake Bio crafts custom gene editing enzymes from the ground up. This innovative approach employs generative AI and structural biology. The company has plans to license these enzymes to seed firms and therapeutic developers.