Pangaea Releases Latest Report on AI for Drug Discovery Frontiers: 'AI for Science / Lab-in-the-loop' After Analyzing 60 Global AI Drug Discovery Startups

Pangaea Inc. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Yuki Yonekawa) has released a new market research report titled 'Trend Analysis of AI for Science / Lab-in-the-loop Research 2026,' focusing on how AI is fundamentally transforming scientific research methodologies.

Background and Executive Summary of the Report

In recent years, AI has evolved from predictive models to generative AI and is now advancing toward autonomously generating data. A new research paradigm called 'Lab-in-the-loop' is emerging, where AI and robotics continuously cycle through 'data generation ⇔ model improvement.' Simultaneously, the 'scaling law'—the principle that performance improves with increased data, parameters, and computing resources, which contributed to the success of large language models (LLMs)—has been found applicable beyond language data. Large-scale foundation models are now being developed for various data types, including proteins, genomics, cells, and pathology.

This report analyzes 60 global startup companies in the drug discovery field working on AI for Science / Lab-in-the-loop, revealing the following key trends.

A portion of this report is currently available for free on our company website.

Highly Active Funding Landscape

When plotting the 60 target companies by founding year against cumulative funding amount, all years from 2015 to 2024 (excluding 2025) significantly exceed the average of database-registered companies (approximately 5,400 companies), indicating a highly active funding environment.

Global Competition and Collaboration Centered on the U.S.

Regionally, the U.S. leads with 38 companies (63%), followed by the UK with 7 (12%) and China with 5 (8%). While national initiatives like Genesis Mission (U.S.), AI+ (China), and RAISE (Europe) intensify competition, international initiatives are also forming to network automated labs across multiple regions.

Categorizing Companies by Three Technological Trends

Companies are mapped across three categories: 'Lab-in-the-loop (automated labs),' 'building large-scale foundation models,' and 'AI agents replacing scientists’ tasks.' Currently, the largest number of companies focus on foundation model development, but an increasing number are expected to operate across multiple categories in the future.

Data Strategies: A Mix of 'Walled Gardens' and 'Open Access'

While there is a trend toward accumulating proprietary data as a competitive advantage, some companies are choosing to release their data under non-commercial licenses. The boundary of what constitutes pre-competitive research will continue to be negotiated.

Rise of Scientist-Replacing AI

Initiatives such as Robin (Kosmos) from FutureHouse/Edison Scientific and Google's Co-Scientist are advancing AI systems that autonomously conduct literature reviews, hypothesis generation, experimental planning, and data analysis. While challenges remain—such as the accuracy of experimental protocol generation—the role of scientists is undoubtedly evolving.

Pipeline Focus on Small Molecules and Cancer/Immunity

Among the 153 disclosed drug candidates, small molecules account for approximately 50%, and disease areas related to cancer and immunity also represent about 50%. Around 20% have entered clinical trials, with human dosing already underway.

Accelerating Entry of Cross-Industry Companies

Collaborations with non-drug discovery companies such as NVIDIA, OpenAI, and Microsoft are increasingly common. Additionally, cases like Anthropic's acquisition of Coeffient Bio demonstrate entry into drug discovery through M&A.

Advanced Analysis Using the Drug Discovery Biotech Company Database 'collectio'

This report was created using 'collectio (Collectio),' Pangaea’s proprietary global database of drug discovery biotech companies.

collectio contains information on pipelines, modalities, and core technologies of approximately 5,400 global biotech companies engaged in in-house drug discovery or possessing drug discovery platform technologies. For core technology evaluation, our expert team conducts in-depth analysis by reviewing each company’s scientific papers and patent documents.

In this survey, we meticulously reviewed the papers and patents of 60 startup companies in the AI for Science / Lab-in-the-loop field, analyzing their technological approaches in detail—such as Medra AI’s Vision-Language-Lab-Action model for autonomous experimentation, Basecamp Research’s biology foundation model based on biodiversity genomics data, and Edison Scientific’s multi-agent AI for autonomous drug discovery hypothesis exploration.

Availability of the Full Report

Currently, a portion of this report is available for free on the 'News' section of our website.

While the public version includes masked content, the full report (PDF), containing detailed analysis, is available free of charge upon request.

Pharmaceutical companies, academic research institutions, and drug discovery startups in related fields are encouraged to utilize this report for staying updated on the latest trends and identifying potential collaboration partners.

How to Request the Report

Please contact us via the inquiry form on our website, stating 'Request for AI for Science Report.' (*Please note that due to potential conflicts with our business, we may not be able to provide the report to certain companies, such as consulting firms in the pharmaceutical sector.)

About Pangaea Inc.

Our mission is 'to support maximizing research creativity.' We are a company that supports information gathering for drug discovery research. We have built a proprietary database collecting information on biotech companies worldwide and provide database services such as collectio, as well as biotech research and analysis services tailored to client needs. These services are offered to pharmaceutical companies, drug discovery startups, CROs, and university research institutions. By enhancing the efficiency and sophistication of research and information gathering, we aim to create a world where drug discovery researchers can stay updated on the latest technologies, secure time for research, and focus on original ideas.

Headquarters: 8F, Nihonbashi Lifescience Building 3, 3-8-3 Nihonbashi Honcho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo CEO: Yuki Yonekawa, Representative Director Founded: September 2018 Business: Provision of information related to drug discovery research, biotech research, and brokerage URL: https://www.pangaea.tokyo/

Contact

Pangaea Inc. Contact: Kobori

Inquiry Form: https://www.pangaea.tokyo/contact