ALP AI receives CHF 40,000 from Venture Kick to translate organoid-AI platform into pilots
17.02.2026
The biotech startup ALP AI has secured Venture Kick support to advance its platform for early immunogenicity risk detection in biologics. By combining tonsil-derived immune organoids with generative AI, the company enables teams to predict and redesign antibody sequences to reduce anti-drug antibody risk, aiming to prevent costly late-stage failures and improve the success rate of biologic therapies.
 ALP AI: Dr. Lucas Schaus CSO, Punit Mehra CBO, Anatol Ehrlich CTO, Dr. Christian Vahlensiek CEO
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What was the first real signal that your solution worked outside the lab or pitch deck, and what did that moment change for you?
Our first signal wasn’t a graph, it was a room. We pitched ALP AI to experienced pharma and healthcare experts who’ve seen biologics fail again and again because of immunogenicity. Instead of polite interest, we got real engagement. People leaned in and said, “Tonsils… why hasn’t anyone tried this?”
That reaction validated our core insight: tonsil organoids can provide the missing human feedback loop for immunogenicity, and AI scales what we learn from it. Soon after, cold outreach to teams at AbbVie, Roche, Lonza, and Novo Nordisk led to fast introductions to the right people. That’s when we knew this was a real industry pain point. From there, we stopped debating the idea and focused fully on execution.
Can you briefly describe your project and where it stood when you entered Venture Kick?
ALP AI helps biologics teams detect and prevent anti-drug antibody (ADA) risk early, before it derails development. We combine tonsil-derived immune organoids with generative AI to predict and redesign antibody sequences toward lower immunogenicity without losing function.
When we entered Venture Kick, we had a strong thesis and early proof points, but our roadmap was too broad. We needed clearer prioritization and a practical plan to move from a promising concept to a repeatable, partner-ready platform.
How has the direction of your product/service/product strategy changed since working with the Venture Kick Team?
Venture Kick pushed us from vision to focus.
We translated our broad platform story into a staged build plan: what to validate first, what data to generate next, and what must be true for real discovery teams to adopt it. It also sharpened our positioning, tonsil organoids generate human-relevant data, and AI turns that data into scalable design decisions.
How will the Stage 2 funding help you advance your project concretely?
Stage 2 funding helps us turn momentum into a measurable pilot. It supports the next wet-lab studies to strengthen and standardize our tonsil-organoid assays for partner-facing work.
This step makes the platform not just compelling, but trustworthy. It also enables targeted conference presence to secure pilot customers and accelerate partner discussions. For us, those conversations are not marketing, they’re real-time product validation.
