Baio receives CHF 40,000 from Venture Kick to scale AI-driven molecular design platform
23.02.2026
Baio Labs receives CHF 40,000 from Venture Kick to advance Drugon, its generative AI platform for structure-based molecular design. Powered by a large-scale 3D diffusion model, Drugon enables medicinal chemists to design and validate novel small molecules more efficiently, helping pharmaceutical companies reduce time and cost in drug discovery.
 CTO Arne Schneuing, CEO Ilia Igashov
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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?
The first real signal came when our computationally designed molecules were validated in vitro, showing high success rates across diverse targets. Even more importantly, industry collaborators generated positive experimental results in joint projects with us.
That’s when it clicked: this wasn’t just strong research, it could become a real product that saves pharma companies significant time and cost in drug discovery.
Can you briefly describe your project and where it stood when you entered Venture Kick?
Baio Labs is building Drugon, a generative AI platform that enables medicinal chemists to design, order, and validate novel small molecules within one integrated ecosystem. It’s powered by a large-scale 3D diffusion model for programmable, structure-based molecular design.
When we entered Venture Kick, the project was still largely research-driven. Our core model had shown strong computational and early experimental proof of concept. With Venture Kick’s support, we began productionizing the platform and launched our first pilot projects earlier this year.
How has the direction of your product/service/product strategy changed since working with the Venture Kick Team?
Venture Kick helped us shift from being a deep-tech research project to building a venture-scale company. We sharpened our focus on usability, defined a clear product roadmap, and developed a structured go-to-market and financing plan.
How will the Stage 2 funding help you advance your project concretely?
Stage 2 funding allows us to accelerate the move from validated technology to a scalable product. We’ll further productionize Drugon, improve the user interface and generative engine, and scale the platform on secure cloud infrastructure.
The first real signal came when our computationally designed molecules were validated in vitro, showing high success rates across diverse targets. Even more importantly, industry collaborators generated positive experimental results in joint projects with us.
That’s when it clicked: this wasn’t just strong research, it could become a real product that saves pharma companies significant time and cost in drug discovery.
Can you briefly describe your project and where it stood when you entered Venture Kick?
Baio Labs is building Drugon, a generative AI platform that enables medicinal chemists to design, order, and validate novel small molecules within one integrated ecosystem. It’s powered by a large-scale 3D diffusion model for programmable, structure-based molecular design.
When we entered Venture Kick, the project was still largely research-driven. Our core model had shown strong computational and early experimental proof of concept. With Venture Kick’s support, we began productionizing the platform and launched our first pilot projects earlier this year.
How has the direction of your product/service/product strategy changed since working with the Venture Kick Team?
Venture Kick helped us shift from being a deep-tech research project to building a venture-scale company. We sharpened our focus on usability, defined a clear product roadmap, and developed a structured go-to-market and financing plan.
How will the Stage 2 funding help you advance your project concretely?
Stage 2 funding allows us to accelerate the move from validated technology to a scalable product. We’ll further productionize Drugon, improve the user interface and generative engine, and scale the platform on secure cloud infrastructure.